<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>When Worlds Collide by TheAlphaGeeks</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670361">When Worlds Collide</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlphaGeeks/pseuds/TheAlphaGeeks'>TheAlphaGeeks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Code Geass, Fairy Tail, One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:20:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>89,538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlphaGeeks/pseuds/TheAlphaGeeks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when an abrasive closet-nerd, melodramatic fiction-buff, purposeless prodigy, peevish non-conformist, spurious psychopath, and amoral hero-wannabe—who all happen to be casual anime fans—suddenly obtain various real-life anime superpowers? Not the ideal fantasy adventure of any otaku, that's for sure...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. On The Shoulders of Giants - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>On The Shoulders Of Giants - Part 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Footsteps echoed through the darkened hall. A large sign that read “Authorized Personnel Only” rested above the only door at the end of the corridor. Briskly and purposefully walking toward the door was the silhouette of a petite, young woman.  As she advanced, she passed the shadowy outline of a hulking man leaning against the wall to her right halfway through the hall and started to slow. The man, without looking in her direction, spoke in a confident and commanding baritone, the woman halting altogether.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In a rush as always, I see. Don’t you have the manners to say goodbye to an old friend?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’ll see you again,” the woman replied assuringly after a short pause, “...even if it will be a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A while,” the man snickered. “Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>a while</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’ve said this before but I thought I’d say it again: I won’t be the same the next time we meet. Are you really prepared to face me in that condition?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman smirked playfully. “If things go as planned, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> won’t have to. After all, we’ll have </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>to knock some sense into you. That should do the trick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man stood upright, shaking his head and sighing. “I have to say, of all the humans I’ve met, you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>by far</span>
  </em>
  <span> the most persistent.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I weren’t persistent, my wishes wouldn’t come true. You’d do the same if you were in my shoes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I were in your shoes,” the man mused as he turned his back to her and smiled devilishly, “I would be crushed by the responsibility of my own existence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman stood in defiant silence, grabbing her clothes as hard as she could to release her unspoken pain while the man began to laugh heartily. He then began to walk away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...But I suppose I have my own responsibilities to attend to. It won’t be long until </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>shows up after all—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The muffled thud of clothing meeting clothing rung around the two speakers as the woman hugged the man from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodbye, old friend,” the woman whispered on the verge of tears. “Thank you so much. For everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment passed and she silently let go, turning and walking toward the door at the end of the hall. The man huffed in amusement before also starting to walk away. “And to you, human. It’s been an honor to fight by your side. I wish you nothing but the best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the two shadows left in opposite directions, the woman stopped suddenly, a tear running down her cheek, while the man’s footsteps start to fade.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wish you the best too,” she murmured as she wiped the tears from her eyes and finally made her way to the end of the hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still wiping the tears from her eyes, the woman approached the door, an out-of-place handprint scanner coming into view on the right side of the doorframe. The woman placed her hand on the scanner and after a short moment it beeped, a wave of light moving up and down her palm. It beeped once more, indicating that the scan was successful with a green light. The woman stood back from the scanner as the door shook, opening up right down the middle. On the other side of the door a small hallway appeared, much like an airlock, with another door at the other end. The woman entered the hallway and made her way to the other door, the previous one closing behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After approaching the second door, the woman found another gadget on the right side of the door—this time a keypad with a display above it—along with a yellow box painted on the floor with markings that indicate where to stand. The woman stood in the designated space and punched in an 8-digit code into the keypad then stared at the wall. After a second the display above the keypad flashed green and a retina scanner popped out of the wall, scanning her eye in a manner of seconds before receding into the wall once more. Another flash of green light from the display preceded another keyboard emerging from a hidden pocket in the wall, this time on the opposite side of the door. The woman walks to the other device and typed in one, final password. Registering the code with a beep, the lights in the room turned completely green as the keyboard slowly retreated back into the wall and door to the next room slowly hissed open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A wave of mist met the woman as the door opened further and she began to step through to the other side. The room was shaped like a large sphere, split by a floor in the middle. No other exit besides the way in existed. The woman followed the floor into the middle to the center of the room. There she approached a reinforced glass tube with a base which lowered as she approached it. The woman eyed the contents of the tube: a small, translucent, shining object shaped like a budding flower floating lazily in the air. As the woman reached the container the tube lifted from the base, more mist spreading out into the room. The woman slowly reached for the object but hesitated for a moment just before grabbing it. Holding the object in front of herself in both hands, the woman took a deep breath. She then brought the object close to her chest and it shone brightly, disappearing from her hands. The woman looked to the exit, then staggard, catching herself on the rail and heaving in pain before dragging herself back upright. Immediately klaxons blared to life around her and the entire room was bleached a deep red. Finding her strength once more, the woman made her way out of the vault back the way she came.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A moonless night sky dimly illuminated an expansive compound. The place was completely deserted, barring the insects making noise, with many signs of several years of neglect: heaps of junk littered the fractured pavement between several of many dilapidated buildings; a dozen rusting cars sat stoically on sides of the road, including one next to a garden overrun by weeds; and, among other things, what looked to be the upper portion of a radio tower half buried in the dirt. A section of trees overshadowed two neighboring buildings on the perpendicular curve of the road leading further into the location, the stars casting a faint glow over the green of the leaves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the bugs went silent. Above the buildings, the sky began to bend; stars extending into streaks in a circular pattern. A multi-colored shockwave erupted from the trees, knocking many of them over. Nearby buildings began to crumble to the ground, others more far away crumbled slightly, their windows being blown out. The stars continued to twist together, the wind picking up into a cyclone getting strong and stronger as the streaks coalesced into a blob of light that descended toward the buildings being ripped apart by the wind. The blob twisted as well developing into a cyclone of light that touched down as the wind reached peak speeds. Immediately after touching down, a deafening explosion split the air followed by a giant black and purple sphere with an undulating texture expanding and consuming everything it touches in a crimson tide—the remainders of the two buildings, the trees, the cars on the sidewalk, all swallowed whole. Eventually the growth of the sphere began to slow and it reaches peak size, silently resting in the night as the sky returned to normal and the dust settled. Finally, the sphere began to dissipate, becoming clearer and clearer until it all but vanished leaving behind a giant spherical crater glowing slightly from the occasional small patches of purple flames within its radius.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the middle of the crater, the lone figure of a young woman with her head held low stood in the night. The faint white glow of parts of her flashy dress accentuated the ample curvature of her body around her chest and waist. A giant, elaborate, bronze key stretched from her right hand around the back of her long, orange hair and well past her left shoulder. The girl lifted her head and opened her eyes; two shining crystal-like pupils revealed her purple irises against the darkness. Without speaking a word, the girl swiftly swung her right arm inward and up toward her left shoulder, twirling the key in her grip to a more sword-like position, then swung the key outward to cut the air, putting out the unusual flames in front of her and leaving only her menacing glare and a sinister smile fully visible in the shadows.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The relentless droning of the alert klaxons filled the once-empty halls. Several figures in lab coats scrambled to relocate documents and machinery as several others frantically tapped away at computer monitors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s the status on the base?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve lost all of D Block in some kind of explosion! But it looks like the rest of the base will hold!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did we lose D Block!? Nothing was </span>
  <em>
    <span>stored</span>
  </em>
  <span> in D Block! And the reactor is in B Block!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Update on the reactor! Is it stable!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The reactor is fine! All readings green!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about the test subjects?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No one can locate them! No word from the Overseers either!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Damn it!” the man said as he slammed his hands on the keyboard in front of him. “Did they abandon us!? What was all of this research for!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then the door to the room opened and the silhouette of a man in his twenties walked in nonchalantly. He clapped a few times to get their attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, people,” the man began in a casual (almost arrogant) tone, “listen up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room stood still as mumbles of “thank God” and sighs of relief propagate among the scientists.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is not a drill, so move with purpose,” the man said calmly. “If you’re backing up data or taking hard drives to a safe location, keep doing what you’re doing but move them to the living quarters. Otherwise, our first project is shutting down the reactor. We already have the maintenance team headed to the location. You should hear them over the comms shortly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Many of the scientists took the cue to run out of the room with papers and machinery. The ones at the computers went back to monitoring the situation, one trying to contact the maintenance team over the comms. The young man who issued the orders walked next to one of the scientists, a woman, while she fiddled with various displays on the computer in front of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on out there?” she asked in a nervous tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have confirmation of someone on the compound grounds linked to the explosion,” the man said while looking around as if in a dream of his own creation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are we under attack? That doesn’t make any sense! No one should know we’re here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not under </span>
  <em>
    <span>deliberate</span>
  </em>
  <span> attack,” the man said casually. “The explosion was a preternatural phenomena. This event should be treated like contact with Test Subject 001.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman stopped for a moment in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t mean…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man smiled devilishly.</span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“Yes. By chance or by fate, we’ve found another one. Or, rather, </span><em><span>it</span></em><span> found us. We don’t know if it’s hostile yet so we’ve sent the head scientists to make first contact. The test subjects with combat capabilities are on standby in case we have to engage.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about Test Subject 001? Shouldn’t he be out there too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man almost snorted in laughter. “He would be, but I had a personal errand for him to run. He’ll head there as soon as he checks back in with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You seem way too confident about this. Are you sure those two are going to be enough?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man stared at the ceiling and grins, then turned to stroll out of the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As long as I have my guardian angel on my side, this is all for the best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, the man reached the door, opened it, and stepped out into the red-light-drenched hallway. Instantly upon exiting, however, he encountered a recognizable hulking mass in the shadows leaning against the opposing wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, there you are,” the young man said happily. “I was just on my way to find you. What’s the status of the base’s interior?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No other intruders to speak of,” the large man said shaking his head. “It would seem they came alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Now then, your next task is to go greet our unwelcome guest with the others. They should be making first contact soon. I’m sure the others can handle it, but I’d like you there just in case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Understood,” the titanic man said, straightening up to fulfill his task. “Although before I leave, I thought I’d tell you something you may like to know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what would that be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“While I was checking security footage of what was left of the base, I noticed that your fiancé was in the vault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes, I love her mind sometimes. Best keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> item nice and safe,” the young man replied cheerily while spinning blissfully before starting to walk off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Last I saw her she was on her way to C Block.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young man froze on the spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C Block? Why not come to me? Did you talk to her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The giant started to walk away, waving over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did. She said she had to borrow your latest work. ‘Apologies in advance,’ or something like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>SHE WHAT!?</b>
  <span>” the young man screamed turning around to face the giant man who had vanished from sight. “Of ALL the times to do this! What is she THINKING?!” He promptly turned tail and sprinted in the opposite direction. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>In the middle of the giant crater, the girl in the glowing dress stared at the stars. The bugs had since resumed their chorus, the only other sounds being the wind and the occasional falling rubble as the mangled, decrepit buildings continued to crumble. Two figures in lab coats stepped up to the scene just on the edge of the crater.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, what a mess. I’m going to have to clean this up, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl in the glowing dress turned to look at them, her eyes filled with malice. Before her stood a man and a woman; the woman, the one that spoke, scratched her head and yawned while the man stood still with his hands in his pockets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man chuckled. “Careful now, it looks to be a foul mood.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would be too, knowing what just happened to her,” the woman said while stretching. “In any case, let’s get this over with.” The woman called out to the girl once more. “So...if you understand us, don’t be afraid to talk back. We just have some questions we’d like to ask you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without any hesitation the girl in the dress swung the key in front of her, buffeting the two scientists with a gust of wind. The scientists shielded their faces from the wind blast until it subsided. The girl began to walk toward the two, battle ready. The two scientists took battle ready stances themselves, the man taking his hands out of his pockets and opening up his coat to take hold of a fancy sword at his belt. The woman readied her fists and took a deep breath, a white aura cascading around her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t look like it wants to talk,” the man said excitedly. “I guess that means we can capture it and make it into a guinea pig.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always right to the experiments with you,” the woman retorted. “Just remember that she’s a living being, just like us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man smiled. “We’ll see about that when we get it under a microscope.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that the girl in the glowing dress charged at the two, the two scientists engaging to counterattack.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Spinning lights bleached the darkened halls an ominous red as the shadowy figure of the petite woman dashed past a deafening alarm. Coming to a haphazard halt at a cast iron door, she quickly tapped a password into the keypad by it; it gives her the green light and the door opens for her with a rumbling sound. She slipped into the room, the sirens still sounding in the background. Walking slowly, the woman looked around the room filled with strange, mechanical contraptions until one of them caught her eyes: a enormous, spacecraft-looking machine with equally large reflective panels on either side and a metal ladder leading to the cockpit. She quickly made her way over to the machine, stopping at an operating panel a few yards from its base. With haste, the woman inputted something into the panel and ran to the ladder while a countdown sequence began. The machine began to emit a low roar, so loud that the room began to shake but the woman was undeterred. The hatch of the machine slowly started to close as the woman reached the top of the ladder and sat at the very edge of the inside of the machine. A sudden movement from afar alerted the woman to a presence in the room: she looked up and locked eyes with the young man from earlier and both were speechless for a moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you—” the man started to say in disbelief, but before he could finish the woman kicked the ladder out from under her and it hit the ground with a clang. To two watched each other in silence as the woman stood up and the doors to the machine finally sealed together with a high-pitched hiss, cutting the woman off from the man’s view. Finally, the moment caught up with the man and he immediately moved into action, running to the console while yelling at the woman to stop. Too late: the countdown hit the point of no return as the machine kicked into overdrive. A sound so loud that it drowned out all of the man’s dissents filled the room and a rainbow-colored fog accumulated around the machine. The machine started to fade but the persistent man sprinted toward the machine and yelled at the top of his lungs one last time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! WHAT ABOUT MY PROMISE?! I DID </span>
  <b>EVERYTHING</b>
  <span> FOR YOU! </span>
  <b>WHY ARE YOU LEAVING MEEEEE!?</b>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inside the machine, the woman lowered her head and placed it against the door while grabbing the clothes around her heart. Only three words rung out above the noise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I love you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, white light enveloped the whole room as the loud hum became a whooshing sound. A calm graced the room as the figure of the young man sitting on the floor with his face in his hands confronted reality: she was gone leaving nothing behind. The man took a moment to collect himself, gripping his hands tightly, then got up and began to walk out of the room. Eying the door, the familiar figure of the hulking man appeared once more, leaning against the doorway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The intruder is gone,” the figure said as the young man walked past him without even a second glance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nevermind that,” the young man said bitterly while walking out of the room. “Securing the prototype is our first priority. We must get her back...at all costs.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A gentle breeze drifted through the park, making ripples on a small (and positively dirty) pond not far off from the hill’s base. The leaves of the trees rustled softly in the wind, and a flock of birds cawed and took off into the sky. Six boys lounged on the hilltop in various positions, silently watching the sky and reveling in the warm September night. A moment of calm passed by but was followed by a wave of anxiety.  One of the boys finally broke the silence, acknowledging their predicament...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” he lamented. “I can’t believe summer‘s almost over...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The statement was met by groans and complaints from the rest of the group. Josh, the speaker, flopped against the hillside and grumbled half to himself. “This sucks...” He placed his worn, red hat over his face and sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the other boys, a few feet lower on the hill, bolted upright, grabbing his head in sudden realization. “Aw, shit, Josh! Don’t remind me!” he wailed. “I fucking HATE school! I wish I could just burn it to the ground!” He snapped his finger and made a pretend explosion with his hands while making a mock-explosion sound with his mouth. “No more child slavery.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While this elicited chuckles from most of the group, the boy next to him groaned and pushed himself up from the ground into a sitting position with his legs in front of him. “We get it, Jory,” he said, pushing his glasses up and rolling his eyes. “You hate school with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning</span>
  </em>
  <span> passion...” He wrapped his arms around his legs and added, “I’m not too thrilled about it myself, but all good things have to end eventually...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A fourth boy, lying perpendicular to the others above the previous two speakers but below Josh, lazily opened one of his eyes. “Ben’s got a point, you know,” he noted coolly, almost lecture-like. “Nothing left to do now but enjoy it while it lasts.” (“Byron always agrees with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jory whined at Ben, who only smirked and stuck his tongue out.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>three days</span>
  </em>
  <span> we have left,” snarked the fifth boy higher up on the hill, who also sat up to speak. The last boy, lying next to the fifth, nudged his elbow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oi, quit yer whinin’, Drew mah boi,” he slurred in a fake British accent. “It’s not like it’s gonna change anythin’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Charlie,” Drew replied, “I would say something along the lines of ‘shut the hell up’ but knowing you you’d nag me even more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know it,” Charlie quipped seductively.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drew shrugged, then stiffened when he heard a buzzing noise. He dug his cell phone from his pocket and his eyes skimmed over the screen. “Well, time for me to go,” he yawned, standing up and stretching. “Mom’ll freak if I’m not back by seven like she said. God, she’s making me get up early already...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You heard him, peasants, it’s time to leave,” Charlie chimed in, also getting up and patting his pants.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other group members stretched and reluctantly stood to get going. Charlie and Drew began to pull off from the group, heading for the wooden stairs built into the other side of the hill. As they reached the top a strange sound filled the air throughout the park—at first very high pitched, almost like wind chimes, but followed shortly by an electrical sound and then a sound like a moving siren and then back to the high-pitched sound. The group looked around at each other, confused, Drew and Charlie turning to look at the others as well. Drew opened his mouth to speak, paused for a moment, then finally continued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Did you all hear that or was that just—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly an explosion occurred from above the forest sending the six to the ground after Josh barked the order. They clung to the earth in desperate fear and covered their heads as the shock-wave and trembling of the ground subsided just as suddenly as it had started. The boys looked on at the forest, a billowing cloud of smoke rising up from beneath treetops that began to fall one by one while strange, glowing-red sparkles littered the air where the smoke meets the open air. The only sound left after the last tree fell was an unsettled flock of birds that took off in panic all the while squawking in distress. Slowly but surely, the six rose apprehensively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Ben wondered in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh was momentarily dumbfounded, but instantly started reviewing ideas in his mind. “It looked and sounded exactly like something out of a Sci-Fi flick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Drew said anxiously, trying to change the subject. “But it sounds like we should probably take our leave...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve arrived, promised ones.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A voice like a whisper spoke to the boys; it was quiet, and only a few seemed to hear it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you guys hear that?” Byron demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t hear anything,” Drew frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I did,” Jory said uncertainly. “It was a girl, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If you can hear me, come to the forest. Help me...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron, Jory, and Ben froze; the voice now beckoning them to the source of the explosion. The others seemed unfazed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie, oblivious to the voice, tipped lazily on his feet and looked back at the others. “Oookay? Now what...?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without warning, Jory bolted down the hill, heading for the edge of the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory!” Byron shouted, reaching out a hand too late to stop him. “What are you—dammit!” He took off after Jory with Josh following close behind. Drew, Charlie, and Ben were left wondering what exactly just happened, and awkward silence quickly ensued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Wanna just leave?” Drew finally asked Charlie, jamming his thumb over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Charlie answered, staring at the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Any chance we actually will?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually? ...Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Works for me,” Drew replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two turned about and began to casually walk down the staircase away from the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait! But what about the others?!” Ben called to Drew and Charlie who ignored him. Ben, now left alone at the top of the hill, wavered. “I have a seriously bad feeling about this...” he murmured before giving in and rushing to catch up with Drew and Charlie.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The trees passed by quickly as the three boys wound their way through the forest. The sounds of heavy breathing and rustling foliage accompanied by passing shadows and flashes of clothing that sharply contrast the wooded surroundings were the only sensations that the boys could understand in their frantic journey. Moments later, and well into the forest, Byron finally caught up to Jory, who was tangled up in some brush and cursing up a storm. After rolling his eyes (as if to say “of course”) and shaking his head in disappointment, Byron helped untangle Jory and brushed him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, mate,” Jory sighed, relieved. He brushed the leftover debris off of his pants. “I really owe you one—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever Jory was about to say next was quickly and effectively forgotten as Byron drew his arm back and knocked him upside the head, staggering him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> run off like that again!” Byron snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at Jory. “What if this is some sort of trap, or becomes a restricted, police-investigated area because of that </span>
  <em>
    <span>explosion</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Besides that we don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>what happened! It’s just plain </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid </span>
  </em>
  <span>to rush recklessly into something </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span> unknown—and furthermore, </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Do you have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>death wish</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You absolutely didn’t!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory got up. “Okay, geez, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom</span>
  </em>
  <span>...” he said disdainfully as he rubbed his head. "You expect me to think better by smacking my head…? Anyway, are you coming with me or not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Josh jogged in from some nearby shrubbery, having followed the two through the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> enters a forest,” Josh remarked a bit strained from his run, “when there’s a path going through the park? Seriously Jory, this is a new level of dumb even by your standards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I was just trying to…” Jory began before realizing he doesn’t have an argument. “Shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh sighed, coming closer to the other two while rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. “...So are we gonna wait for the others, or...?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would have </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked</span>
  </em>
  <span> to,” Byron said pointedly, shooting a glare at Jory who winced in response. “But </span>
  <em>
    <span>genius</span>
  </em>
  <span> here took too many turns in the wrong direction.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We’d be better off trying to bump into them on the way to...whatever that thing was.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, ex-</span>
  <em>
    <span>cuuuse me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, princess,” Jory mutters mutinously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we just call them?” Josh pointed out. “It would be easier, and they can’t be too far away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True,” Byron allowed. “But then what about that unnatural explosion?” Behind Byron’s back, Jory started mimicking him mockingly. Josh couldn’t help but smile, holding back his laughter. “This whole situation is just bizarre as hell. I didn’t see anything flying there, but given that smoke trail, </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> fell out of the sky. Maybe it’s mobile. Maybe there are people looking for it besides us. If the others took the path and are closer to it than we are—” Byron whipped around after reading Josh’s face, glaring at Jory again, who instantly stopped and innocently acted like he wasn’t doing anything. “...Then we might be putting them at risk by giving away their location.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh pondered this for a moment, then shrugged. “I guess so. So then what are we going to do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We get out of the forest as soon as possible,” Byron replied. “Open spaces are safer since we can see everything around us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I tried to keep track of where we are and we had to have turned completely around to be in the forest still. So I guess we just keep going forward and we’ll end up about where we entered,” Josh mused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what about—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Save it, Jory,” Byron interrupted. “In this case our own safety definitely comes first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh began to move past Jory and Byron crossed his arms to signal to Jory that he’s not going to allow him to go toward the explosion anymore. Jory sighed and begrudgingly accepted his position by following Josh. Byron took a quick look in the opposite direction but shortly followed.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Drew, Ben and Charlie strode across the grass islands in the middle of the parking lot by the pavilion at the entrance of the park. Ben has fully caught up with the other two and has passed Charlie moving toward Drew all the while whining about their current situation. His complaints have reached their height and his worry is showing on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...We’re already in way over our heads and then Jory just up and bolts toward it! Not only that, but then we separate and now we have no idea what happened to them! And on top of that—are you even listening to me?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew looked down at his phone and then looked up, still pacing toward his car on the far side of the lot right by the exit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, unless you literally have wooden underpants and a horde of termites getting all up in that, you need to take a chill pill,” Drew finally replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew, I’m serious!” Ben begged. “The others haven’t come back yet! Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> what happened to them?! You should be way more worried!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cool story. Honestly? Don’t really care,” Drew said flatly. “Mom's gonna throw a fit again as usual so I’m not in the mood to go and play park ranger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I get that you have your own agenda,” Ben started while pinching the bridge of his nose, “but don’t you care at all that our friends could be in danger? Things don’t just explode out of nowhere.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, I’ll check. Hey Charlie, what do you think of all of this?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna hit up Mickey D’s on the way back?” Charlie said jovially.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And that about sums up how much I care.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what about the voice?!” Ben continued. “Don’t you think that something odd is going on for something like that to address us directly?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew continued walking toward his car, now a few feet away, with his back turned to Ben. “Listen, Ben, buddy, pal, amigo—there was no voice. And even if there was I still wouldn’t want to go near something that just exploded out of nowhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rrrgh! You’re im</span>
  <em>
    <span>possible</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Our friends’ safety is on the line and—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben was swiftly interrupted as a shoe sailed past his face and over Drew’s head. Ben flailed in surprise and turned to see Charlie in a pose like that of a field-goal kicker frozen right after the kick. Ben stamped his foot and began to chew Charlie out while Drew’s face contorted in confusion in the direction of the shoe.</span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“What was THAT for?!”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, you figure it out,” Charlie replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie, we don’t do that to OUR FRIENDS!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I don’t know that,” Charlie said as if it’s obvious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s lack of amusement wore on his face. “You’re incorrigible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gesundheit~.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh! Drew, come on, I need your help! Jory and the others need us! They could be lost or hurt or—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, gag it for a second,” Drew said harshly. “Charlie? Scratch that Mickey D’s plan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What, you a Taco Bell guy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Haha, no. I mean we’re not gonna be leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s expression went from worry and concern to sunken anxiousness. He looked over in Drew’s direction and saw the shoe on it’s side in the middle of exit way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew walked up to the park’s exit while speaking. “Charlie’s shoe should have gone a lot further than that. But...” He raised his arm slowly and hesitated for a moment with his palm out in front of him. He moved his hand forward as if to touch something in the naked air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He did.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s only a small ripple at first and Drew immediately reeled backward half expecting it to take his arm off. After realizing it’s safe Drew pressed his full hand against the invisible...thing. The air distorted like waves on a pond stretching out from Drew’s hand. Soon after the apparent wall relaxed and returned to being invisible. Drew placed his other hand on the object and patted it twice with both hands sending two sets of waves through the air that overlapped and created a ripple pattern.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh. That’s...actually kinda cool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben was stunned. Charlie looked at Ben curiously then back at Drew, smiling and narrating in a fun-filled-falsetto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s not something ya see everyday~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben sputtered a few times before he could collect himself and get his words across. “What the heck is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Drew said plainly. He then walked to his left while keeping one hand on the invisible wall, the ripples following and showing the entire drive and then some was blocked. “...But it doesn’t seem like we’ll be going out this way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ben cried as he ran up to the barrier and pounded his fists against it. The ripples spread out across the air in every direction showing that it covered over the nearby fences as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! No! No! No! NO! Now we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>trapped here</span>
  </em>
  <span>!? Please tell me this is some kind of dream! OK Ben, nightmare is over! It’s time to wake up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben pinched himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Owwww…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Silly Ben,” Charlie began, “you have to do so much more than that if you want to wake up from this dream. I can kick you in the nuts but it’ll cost you five dream dollars to do it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’m good, thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew finished his short inspection and turned to the others while tapping a message into his phone and hitting the send button. “Whelp, sorry Ma. Looks like I’m not going to be coming back in time. ...Aaand my texts aren’t going through. Great.” Drew pocketed his phone. “Well, let it be known for the record that this is not my fault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the heck is going on?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want my honest opinion? Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure that the explosion and this thing are linked. My guess is that random, supernatural occurrences like to party it up,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>great. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That just makes things worse for us... Alright...so, will you two help </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well my one reason to not be here just became 100% impossible, so yeah, pretty much. Charlie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FOR NARNIAAAAA!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie ran right into the forcefield and it rejected him causing him to fall flat on the ground on his back. Ben and Drew stared at Charlie in bewilderment as he began to pretend to writhe in pain on the ground. After a moment he stopped and looked up at the two with a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie jumped to his feet from his back and then went to collect his shoe. Drew sighed and looked over at Ben.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well...since leaving ain’t an option anymore I guess we gotta see what the explody thing was all about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should go look for Byron and the others though—they might know more about what’s going on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, if we head to the explosion site then they’ll eventually meet up with us, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew, there’s like a ton of woods around here, that’s not sa—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Too late, time’s up, I’m right. Let’s go guys,” Drew responded as he began to walk toward the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“McDonald's after?” Charlie inquired as he caught up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“McDonald’s after.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“OUTTA MY WAY, BITCHES~!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie charged across the parking lot toward the forest, Drew trailing behind him. Ben sighed audibly and threw up his hands in frustration before following in suit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other side of the parking lot, two figures peaked out from behind the wall of the pavilion observing the boys as they go. They wore long, black cloaks with hoods covering their hair (at least one of them could be made out to have the figure of a woman) while their faces were hidden by Japanese-style animal masks: the woman, a snake, the other a sheep. The figure with the sheep mask held a cell phone up, as if to take a picture of the boys, then pocketed the phone and the two turned and disappear inside the pavilion.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Josh, Byron and Jory had continued trekking through the forest, gingerly stepping over the fallen debris and trying not trip. As the three came across a small clearing, suddenly Josh stopped dead in his tracks. The two others, noticing the lack of their third set of footsteps, stopped as well and looked at Josh who was staring up at the canopy. Byron and Jory glanced at each other inquisitively then Jory broke the silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Getting tired?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you wanted to stop for a break, all you had to do was ask,” Byron said apprehensively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...This is wrong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory and Byron looked at each other again. Jory looked back at Josh while Byron tilted his head in confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Us asking if you want to take a break</span> <span>is </span><em><span>wrong</span></em><span>?” Jory challenged.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh rolled his eyes. “No dumbass,” he said with a hint of venom. “...Well, sort of. I mean, this whole scenario is wrong. Something doesn’t add up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, now that you mention it, I’m inclined to agree,” Byron added, crossing his arms and frowning. “Just how long have we been walking? Either we’ve been going in circles or something definitely isn’t right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh walked to the middle of the clearing and looked around the forest cautiously. “I’m not exactly sure of how long we’ve been here for or how far we’ve walked,” he explained, “but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>for a fact that we’ve been walking straight this entire time. Yet just by looking around it doesn’t seem like we’re even close to getting out of here. And last time I checked the park isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> big.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron and Jory paused as they took his words in. “Ok, well that rules out the ‘circles’ theory. But then that doesn’t explain why we’re still stuck walking through the for—” Byron stopped and recounted his words. “Stuck? Wait a minute. No way, that’s not possible. There has to be some rational explanation to this that we’ve overlooked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Josh mused, “What about that explosion that happened? Smoke doesn’t come out of nothing and I’ve never seen anything like those red sparkles before in my life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you call </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>rationally explainable?” Jory chimed in. “And what about the voice we heard? That didn’t feel like it came from my ears and that girl was nowhere in sight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think what you’re describing is telepathy, Jory,” Byron said as he puts his hand to his chin. “I had the same kind of experience. Odd. I mean, that would certainly explain it but it sounds like a terrible answer at face value. But I suppose it’s not technically impossible, just incredibly unlikely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>you choose to believe in supernatural forces?” Jory scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a working hypothesis only. I’m not sold yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, but what the fuck are you two going on about?” Josh said harshly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? You didn’t hear the voice? It was kinda hard to miss,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? Nothing at all?” Byron inquired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing. Are you sure you two aren’t hallucinating?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron and Jory looked at each other. “But Jory, you heard it, right? Do you remember what she said?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was something about us being there and that she was in the forest and wanted our help. That’s why I ran into the forest. To go help her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Figures,” Josh said flatly. “Jory hears a voice asking for help and he runs off to be the hero. Why am I not surprised?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my God, drop it already, would you?” Jory protested. “If you heard someone ask for help you’d go help them too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t if it was a random voice in my head. How do you even know it’s real?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because Byron said he heard it too!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It could just be mass hallucination.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What kind of argument is that?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to agree with Jory,” Byron interrupted. “I heard the </span>
  <em>
    <span>exact</span>
  </em>
  <span> same thing and the chances that we both had the same hallucination are next to none.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See?” Jory said confidently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh frowned. “Great, now I feel like the crazy one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok, let’s review this one more time,” Byron said waving his hand as if to clear the air. “We’ve established that the explosion wasn’t natural. I’ll give you that. We’ve hypothesized that the voice wasn’t natural but that it definitely happened. So that’s two strikes against common sense. And now we find ourselves stuck in a forest after walking straight for more than it should take to get out…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like something unnatural is keeping us here,” Josh concluded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Byron added. “Let’s not forget that hypothetically the girl did something impossible. If we’re going to throw basic logic out the window we could very well be in some kind of manufactured trap making the path go on forever. ...But I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jory hissed and kicked a tree. “We’re stuck in a loop?! What, do we not have enough fucking power stars to get up the endless staircase!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh just gave Jory a long-practiced stare of befuddlement and exasperation. “The hell are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve never played Super Mario 64?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the two of them argued, Byron gazed around, thinking Jory’s analogy may not be so strange, after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, and you should know that by now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, cuz Nintendo games are shitty or whatever, right?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, because I didn't have an N64 as a kid. Which you also know. Why are you using analogies you know I can't understand?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then allow me to explain,” Byron interrupted. “Jory might actually be onto something. There’s only two possible cases if our infinite loop theory is correct. Either we’re stuck here forever or there’s some kind of condition for getting out. The question is: which one do we have on our hands?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory started fishing through his pocket. “If it’s the first one then we should tell the others about this,” he said. “I don’t want to risk all of us getting stuck in here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, I said not to do that, firstly, and secondly that’s not going to work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, whatever,” Jory muttered as he dialed Charlie’s cell phone number...then thought twice, deleting it, and called Ben’s number instead. When he pressed the call button, though, the other end didn’t even ring. “What?” Jory’s screen lit up with the words ‘no signal’ and canceled the call. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking—</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jory shoved his middle finger into the screen. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>you, Verizon!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's not normal," Josh said. "Verizon isn't known for service outages around here."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you guys don’t get it,” Byron said. “If we’re really stuck in a reality loop then it’s likely that we’re in some kind of alternate dimension. Radio waves can’t hit their target if the target isn’t in the same plane of existence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh slumped against a tree. “So now we’re trapped in here AND we can’t contact the outside world... Wonderful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re not doomed yet,” Byron replied. “We just need to calm down and assess the situation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory groaned. “I hate assessing shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right up there with thinking, huh?” Josh smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wanna know what I’m thinking?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Knock it off, both of you,” Byron snapped. “I need you to focus, got it?” When neither of them said anything further, he took a deep breath. “If we are in the kind of loop where a condition to get out is available, what condition would that be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them thought silently for a moment. Suddenly Josh stood, turned and took a few steps in the opposite direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, Josh, where the hell are you going?” Jory asked. “We need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stick </span>
  </em>
  <span>together!  ...Eh? Eh? Cause—cause there’s sticks—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Forwards,” Josh answered brusquely, ignoring the godawful pun. “Or, rather, backwards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...And this accomplishes...what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron smiled. “Oh, I get it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory turned to look at Byron now. “What? What </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve tried going up the endless staircase in Mario, right?” Byron asked him. “What did you do when you found out that there was no way up there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Duh, you turn back to the door and—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Aand he sticks the landing,” Josh drawled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The best way to get out of here might be to try going backwards,” Byron agreed. “It takes us closer to the explosion but I suppose that’s worth it if it gets us out of here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...What. The fuck.” Jory said flatly. "Wait...hold the fucking phone. Josh, how did you know that was the answer?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's Super Mario 64," Josh said with a tinge of disgust while stopping to look back at him, "everybody knows that game."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory's face curled in confusion. "But you said you didn't understand the analogy!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I lied."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The confusion swiftly turned to anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"JOSH, YOU MOTHERFUCKING—"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, for the love of—" Byron interjected. "Would you two just stop it! Your petty arguing is wasting time. The sun will start setting soon and I, for one, don't see our odds going up being stuck here overnight. Get moving. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at the two sternly. Josh shrugged and continued traveling in the direction he was earlier. Byron turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Jory as if to say, "Well? You too." Reluctantly, Jory followed behind Josh (followed shortly by Byron), but not before whispering under his breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If we weren't friends, I'd use you as breadcrumbs to find my way the fuck out of here..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. On The Shoulders of Giants - Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>On The Shoulders Of Giants - Part 2</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After leaving the parking lot to get closer to the explosion, Ben, Drew, and Charlie strolled past the pavilion lawn on their way to the nearest forest trail then hiked into the forest itself more or less in single file, with Drew leading the group.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope the others are doing all right,” Ben said as he stepped over an old, fallen log.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Drew answered, brushing Ben’s worries aside. “Jory may be a little out there, but I’m positive that Byron and Josh’ll have reigned him in by now.” Ben hummed in agreement as Drew continued. “What I’m worried about is that you, Byron </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jory all said they heard a voice, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I didn’t...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben slowed to a halt, bridging his fingertips in front of his face. “...If it’s to any consolation, it didn’t look like Josh heard it either...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew stopped and turned around, letting go of the branch he’d been pushing out of the way. (The branch whipping back and whacking Charlie across the face.) “Really?” he said incredulously. “What about you, Charlie?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie quickly jumped up and shook his head, partly to answer the question, and partly to do something about the stinging in his cheeks. “Nope, nothing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew threw his hands in the air and turned back around to continue walking. “Well, you all must have gone off the deep end. I swear, if I start hearing voices, I’ll eat a sock. How about that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Even after we just ran into an invisible wall? With all the weird stuff that’s happened in the last fifteen minutes alone, I wouldn’t count anything out,” Ben replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew frowned. “Huh. In retrospect, that was pretty dumb of me to say, wasn’t it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie grinned maliciously. “No take-backsies, Drew. I’m holding you to it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever Charlie.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a couple minutes of silently trudging through the forest, at long last the three stumbled across a clearing...only to realize that they weren’t alone. And that it wasn’t quite a clearing, either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look!” Charlie whispered, pointing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three scrambled to hide behind whatever they could—a bush, a rock, a fallen tree—and cautiously peeked out at the scene before them:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What had once been pure forest had been freshly chopped down to facilitate a small gathering of people: four masked soldiers dressed in black, their identities concealed and guns in hand, stood looking out at the perimeter of the open space in a large square formation around what looked like a broken satellite in the middle of the clearing. Another man in a military uniform appeared from behind the pod, dragging a petite woman with ghost-pale skin by her long, scarlet hair and threw her face-first into the dirt. She appeared to be restrained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut, and looked away. “Please don’t tell me this is going to end the way I think it is...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie giggled in falsetto, then abruptly lowered his voice. “Haha! Rape.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben’s eyes widened and he looked at Charlie with a serious expression. “Charlie!” he hissed, obviously offended at having such insensitive words placed in his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Charlie responded, genuinely taken aback by Ben’s response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew ignored them and stared intently at the scene. The man who threw the girl barked some orders, identifying him as the Commanding Officer, and the two soldiers farthest from the boys moved to stand at either end of the girl. They put their weapons away and picked her up by either side, hoisting her into the air. The Commander looked toward the forest and then back over at the machine. Suddenly he shouted angrily at what appeared to be no one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You almost done over there!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three boys followed the Commander’s gaze to see another figure walk out from behind the contraption. The woman lazily glanced in the Commander’s direction as she ran her hand across the side of the machine. “I was just about to take care of it,” she drawled. “But far be it from me to tell you how to run this site, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sir</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” With that, she placed her hand firmly on the machine...and it slowly dissolved into particles of blue light revealing two more people on the other side.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Holy shit,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Drew whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About damn time,” the Commander grumbled, bristling at the figure’s sardonic words. “And how’s your barrier holding up?” he said to one of the other figures.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just fine,” the woman said tersely, her eyes closed as she stood with her arms crossed. “Nothing can get in or out. If you don’t believe me you can try it yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander huffed as he walked away, while signaling the men carrying the girl to follow him. “You’d better be right.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or what? You’ll do something foolishly insubordinate?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The soldiers with the girl began to trudge toward the edge of the forest on the opposite side of the clearing from the boys. The Commander and the woman who reprimanded him left along with them leaving two soldiers and the two figures from behind the machine</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span>the woman who was asked about the barrier and another man (this one a young man with glasses).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie chuckled. “Get wrecked, son~.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop joking around!” Ben hissed. “This is serious! What if they hear us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get your skirt in a knot,” Drew shot back. “Or do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> want them to hear us? Whoever </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think they’re US military?” Ben whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie looked over the men once more. “Hmm...” he said, scratching his chin. “Dressed in black, hiding their identities, and creepily lurking around in a forest in the middle of a highly populated area?” He switched back to a falsetto again. “Yep! Sounds like US soldiers to me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben slapped his forehead. “Point taken...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Ben, get with the program, would you?” Drew asked with a wry smile. “And when does the U.S. military deal in </span>
  <em>
    <span>superpowers</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Or did you not notice that machine </span>
  <em>
    <span>dissolving?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, I get it,” Ben said, not at all amused by the double-teaming badgery. “But if they’re not local military then just who are they?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe they’re part of an evil organization hell-bent on taking over the world?” Charlie mused.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I don’t know who they are, but does it really matter?” Drew began, “I don’t know about you but I see people with guns and they do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> look like they want to find three people who saw what just happened. We should probably get the hell out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, let’s,” Ben hastily agreed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The party in the clearing reached the edge of the forest and dipped out of sight. But before the three boys could turn tail a familiar voice rang out, this time all of them hearing it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t leave yet. It’s your destiny to help me, promised ones.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben paled. “D-did you guys hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew and Charlie stared in astonishment. “Well, whaddya know,” Drew grinned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like you’re eating a sock, Drew,” Charlie said with a shit-eating smile. “You want mine, or are you set with yours?” Drew stuffed his fist in his mouth as he tried not to laugh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please don’t hear us, please don’t hear us, please don’t hear us...” Ben murmured, his fingers crossed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No response from the soldiers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben sighed with relief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“WHEN YOU WALK AWAY, YOU DON’T HEAR ME SAY—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boys all froze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“—PLEEEEASE, OH BABY, DON’T GO—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Quick! Turn it off!” Drew hissed while Ben fumbled with his phone in a panic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m trying!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, shit,” Charlie deadpanned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“—SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU’RE MAKING ME FEE—”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The song died abruptly as Ben finally pushed the right button, but it was too late: “Did you hear that?” one of the lingering soldiers demanded as he stepped out of position.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Over there!” his comrade shouted, pointing straight at the boys’ location. “We have company!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Th-this can’t be happening...” Ben croaked, the soldiers advanced on them while raising their weapons.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shit,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Drew spat, already starting to move. “Run!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boys stumbled and took off, but one of the soldiers quickly opened fire. Thinking fast, Charlie tackled Drew and Ben to the ground. Behind them a man’s voice they hadn’t heard yet interrupted the fire.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t shoot them, you fool! What would happen if we had a dead body on our hands!? Let me take care of it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie bolted upward. “Get up and run! Now!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ben and Drew scrambled to their feet. Meanwhile, Charlie took a few steps forward and smashed into something before he fell backward onto the ground. Drew and Ben stared blank-faced at the empty space where Charlie attempted to move. In desperation they attempted to go to either side but each of them ran into their own wall. Charlie slowly rose to his feet while Ben and Drew pat the air like mimes feeling walls all around them closing in fast. The three boys stared at the oncoming trio of men in shock, loaded firearms pointed directly at their faces...</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Not long before this, Josh stumbled out of the forest and onto the path in the middle of the forest. Byron and Jory shortly followed, Jory fell to his knees on the wood chips while he proclaimed his satisfaction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck! I never thought I’d be so glad to see a road in my life!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a path, dumbass,” Josh sneered. “But yes, it seems like I was right.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good call, Josh,” Byron said. “But now that we’re closer to the explosion we should be on our guard. By now the others are probably there and</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron noticed Jory out of the corner of his eye who had stood up and had his phone to his ear. Byron turned his head toward him, dumbfounded, as Jory lowered the phone from his face and pocketed it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Jory frowned. “No answer.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Jory! What did I say about not calling them?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Byron almost screamed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I get that you’re worried or whatever, but calling them is the quickest way to find out if they’re alright. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately a burst of noise thundered from the forest, and the three instinctively dove back into the brush and scrambled behind a few trees.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was fast,” Josh yelled sarcastically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The noises quickly subsided and the boys regained their composure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh looked out from behind the tree he hid behind. “Those were gunshots, </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> gunshots,” he said grimly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron carefully circled his own tree and squinted in the direction the noise came from. “Sounds like the others found the site,” he noted. “And we’re not too far from it either.” He then glared at Jory who was still in shock. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span> will you listen to me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, fine, I fucked up. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Jory said bitterly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Music to my ears,” Josh said blissfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“For fuck’s sake, Josh!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough of that,” Byron interrupted. “We’ve just entered crisis mode and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will not</span>
  </em>
  <span> have you two arguing. We need a plan, stat.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory picked himself up and began to move out into the path again. “Isn’t it obvious? Let’s GO already! We have to go see if they’re OK!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea,” Josh said pointedly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Going to check on our friends is a bad idea!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>“You think we</span> <span>aren’t worried about them either? We’re worried, but we have to be rational about this</span><em><span>—</span></em><span>doing it your way, we could be running right into a firefight or some kind of trap.”</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory gripped his fists tightly and grunted in annoyance. He turned to Byron.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But…! Byron…!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Josh is right, Jory,” Byron said as he shook his head ‘no’ and folded his arms. “We need to think about the position we’re in. Suppose we go there</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span>then what? Assuming they’re alive, we could get caught too. Hell, we could get shot down the second we’re spotted. For all we know we could be running right to our deaths.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Assuming they’re alive…?’” Jory gulps.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...We have to accept that could be a possibility,” Josh said, defeated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If those...</span>
  <em>
    <span>fuckers...</span>
  </em>
  <span>hurt any of them at all, I swear to God I’ll fucking...RRGH!!!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory kicked at one of the trees near him as hard as he could.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jory, calm down,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, just say ‘calm down’ and I’m all fuckin’ roses and booze!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well we’re not going anywhere until we have a plan,” Josh replied sternly. “So until you stop bitching and we come up with something, your ass parks here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory leaned up against a tree and crossed his arms, mumbling curses to himself while looking at the ground. Byron and Josh hunkered down in a spot where they couldn’t be spotted from the path.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, beside the current situation, let’s get one thing straight,” Byron began. “It appears that the others didn’t get caught in the forest like we did, or if they did they got out of it and got there before us. So the question is this: if whoever fired the gunshots was just going to shoot us as soon as we got there, and that same person planted the loop as a trap and left a way to escape it, why didn’t they have someone monitoring the exit?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No one responded. Byron had brought up a good point</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span>they should have been caught or shot where they stood.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what you’re saying is...they’re really bad at this?” Jory said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe, but that sounds unlikely,” Byron elaborated. “There’s also the situation with the girl calling for our help. She said we were here ‘as promised’. Who promised her we would be here and why are we, of all people, important in helping her?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just thought of something,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shoot.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well maybe the girl called us to help only so that we would walk to our deaths?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So this whole thing was a fucking trap to begin with?!” Jory said angrily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not too sure about that,” Byron responded. “If she wanted us dead there would have been no point in setting up the reality loop. With powers like that she could’ve killed us a long time ago. And also: why would someone want us randomly dead? We’ve done nothing wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have a better explanation?” Josh inquired. “Cuz I don’t see one.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron put his hand to his chin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, this might sound crazy but I’m going to say it anyway. Let’s assume that the girl called for help from us to keep her away from whoever made the gunshots. That gives us two different factions. Now, whatever made the reality loop could be on one of three sides: the gunner, the girl or neither.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And this tells us what?” Jory asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, let’s also say it was the gunner faction who made the reality loop and it was meant to be a trap. Either they didn’t capitalize on their trap because they’re incompetent, which is unlikely, or something is running interference.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like a third person,” Josh concluded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly. But that’s just one way of looking at this. There is one other way that explains what happened…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“OK? What is it?” Jory demanded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if the person who made the loop is on the girl’s side and they did it to keep us from getting caught?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory glanced at Josh in confusion who was silently thinking to himself but soon slowly nodded in acceptance of the proposition.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I suppose that </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> work too,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I call bullshit. How the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you come up with that?” Jory said looking back at Byron.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m just stating an alternate possibility,” Byron said defensively. “Someone was controlling our movement so it could have been to our benefit. In any case if we rule out the incompetence theory then in either case left we’re pointed toward the idea that there’s more than just the gunner and the girl in all of this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And that tells us what we’re supposed to do, how?” Jory said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Before that, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier, but why don’t we try calling 911?” Josh asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a good idea,” Byron said. “If we can get help immediately then that would be ideal. If we can’t reach them then we take our dominant course of action. Jory, get on that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What, you seriously want me to tell them what just happened to us?” Jory scoffed. “Like they’ll believe it!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then just tell them we saw an explosion and some trees fell over. It’s not like you’d be lying.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do I say if they ask for details?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then ask for input. Just do it, we don’t have all day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine. Jesus.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory dialed the number while Josh and Byron got back to business.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If we’re going to get help from the police it would probably be best to go toward the parking lot to meet them as soon as possible,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I would normally agree with that but I have an inkling that even if we tried we wouldn’t get anywhere,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh ponders this for a moment then frowns.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now that you mention it, that makes a lot of sense,” Josh said. “But just so we’re clear, run it by me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if my hunch is correct then we should be getting our answer just about now,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron looked over at Jory who had now hung up the phone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. I have signal but it says they’re disconnected.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s impossible,” Josh said. “911 can’t possibly be disconnected.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>can be</span>
  </em>
  <span> in this little area if you can warp reality, the same reason why a reality loop could exist,” Byron said. “Although it would make more sense just to get rid of the signal entirely if you were a third party to put the pressure on the gunman too, but we know that didn’t happen since our call went through to the others. We now have our answer for whose side the person who made the loop is on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And how would that be?” Josh asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, why would the gunner call 911? The fact that they shot at a group of highschoolers suggests that they really don’t care about the law. No, this is a measure and a message just for us. The reality warper is with the girl.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, but if they have someone that powerful on their side why don’t they just save the girl on their own?” Jory stated plainly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because she asked us to do it and they’re complying, for whatever reason,” Byron said. “That’s what we need to find out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So I guess we don’t have a choice then. Someone like that would definitely keep us from leaving,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, so we only have one option left: we’re going toward the explosion,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fight time?” Jory asked excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, stupid. We can’t fight guns,” Josh said with as much venom as he could muster.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We may not be able to fight them alone, but meeting the girl’s ally might change that,” Byron says. “Our main objective is to make contact with them. That said, we best be on our guard. They may decide not to help us if we get into trouble and if that’s the case then we have to avoid being found out by anyone else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Setting our phones to silent or turning them off sounds like a good idea to start off with,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Agreed. We’ll do that on the way. If the exit to the loop is any indication then crossing the path and heading straight for a while should get us there,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s go find out what happened to the others,” Jory said. “And beat the </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of whoever shot at them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron and Josh rolled their eyes. Jory got up and cautiously peered out from the brush into the path, looking both ways before giving the all clear. The three boys stealthily crossed the path and entered the forest on the other side. Once they’re almost out of sight a figure with a Japanese animal mask, this time the face of a monkey, with a hooded jacket peered out from behind one of the trees right behind where the boys just sat. The figure held a phone out in front of them as if reading the screen while watching to confirm the boy’s departure.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>After a short and silent trudge through the forest, Byron Jory and Josh came across the same clearing that the others had found earlier. They took position behind a few objects and peered out at the clearing before them. In the center of the clearing stood a woman. She held a knife in one hand and had her eyes closed, almost as if she was preparing herself for something.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay? So it’s some chick. She doesn’t have a gun so...is she with us or against us?” Jory whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh. Just keep watching. She’s about to do something,” Josh whispered back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman raised her right hand and placed the knife in it with the other. In one swift movement she slit her hand, wincing from the pain, and put her left arm to her side. The boys hunched over in the brush only stared at the action, completely dumbfounded. The woman extended her right arm in front of her, her hand tilted sideways in the shape of a fist, not a drop of blood escaping. The red liquid gathered in a small amount at the base of her fist. It pooled slowly, about to drip. In the moment just before the droplet fell, the woman was suddenly seized from behind by a massive man with a japanese animal mask, the face of an ox, holding her right arm up above her head. The drop of blood fell on her shoulder. Before the woman could respond the man chopped the woman's shoulder and she went limp, the man catching her with one arm and catching the knife with the other. The boys gawked at what they just witnessed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"What the fu</span>
  <em>
    <span>—</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Where the hell did HE come from?" Josh whispered, placing his hand over Jory’s mouth to keep him from yelling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"He wasn't there even just a moment ago... Either he teleported or he's faster than the eye can see!" Byron exclaimed through his teeth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The man hoisted the woman onto his shoulder. He turned in the direction of the boys, his overwhelming figure now completely visible. The man towered at seven feet tall, wore a tank top that gripped his body tightly, exposing his eight-pack abs, all while sporting casual jeans. The boys continued to watch with bated breath as the man continued to stare in their direction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He knows we’re here… Get ready to run.” Byron said under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, like that will do anything,” Josh sneered in a hush.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what do we do?” Jory whined.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pray he’s on our side,” Byron said unwaveringly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A moment passed as the two parties stared each other down. Finally the man turned to look in another direction. ...Only to look back at the boys again. He cocked his head once...as if signalling for them to follow him. The man then turned his back to the boys and nonchalantly walked away from them toward the edge of the forest until he disappeared into the brush. A moment passed before a wave of relief washed over the boys and they collapsed onto the forest floor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, I wasn’t going to question anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>abnormal </span>
  </em>
  <span>that we were gonna see today after that whole endless loop shit back in the forest. But...no, I feel I do need to incline: uh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the fucking </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>fuck </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>was that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jory exclaimed loudly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly what we came for," Byron responded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t recall coming here for a lifetime's supply of what-the-fuck-just-happened," Josh remarked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And did you see how ripped that guy was? I didn’t even know muscles like that were possible!” Jory interjected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course you’d focus on that,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Other than the mask, I’m pretty sure that’s what anyone would focus on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or, you know, you could focus on that fact that despite knowing where we were, having all the time in the world, and super speed, that guy literally just let us go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, right, that’s another question I have. Byron, who’s side is THAT fucker on?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, as Josh pointed out, if he was our enemy he would have taken care of us immediately. But more than that, did you see the nod at the end there? It’s obvious he’s on the girl’s side,” Byron said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh thank God,” Jory said as he slumped down further to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, that’s great and all, but where are the people with guns and the others?” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron and Jory looked back at the clearing. Indeed there were no signs of them anywhere.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Byron began, “I don’t think we can say anything about the others for now. We could look around for blood stains but that would be hard to do in a forest. As for the gunman, given that the guy we just saw motioned for us to follow him, it probably means our job isn’t done. Likely they captured the girl and moved to another location.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I bet that if we go the way that guy went we’ll find the girl.” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And we might even find out what happened to the others,” Byron added.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what are we waiting for?” Jory said. “Let’s go kick some ass!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on there, Jory,” Byron said holding his hands up as if to keep Jory in place. “Remember, we’re still dealing with guns. If we all waltz in there unprepared there’s no telling what will happen to us. We need more information before we can make a plan of attack.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And the only way we’re going to get that is if someone scouts ahead,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Precisely. So, any takers?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three boys stared awkwardly at each other, not knowing what to say. Finally Josh spoke up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll probably regret this, but I’ll do it. I have better eyesight than either of you and if I’m going to die here then I’d rather it be by my own fault than by someone else’s stupidity. No offense.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“None taken,” Byron replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“All the offense taken,” Jory said. “Don’t try to mask your jabs at me by acting all heroic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, that wasn’t aimed at you, for once. But if you want it to be then I have no problem with that,” Josh responded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck you too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Byron said, “here’s the plan. Josh, you have seven minutes: two to get over there, three to gather intel, then two to get back. We can’t waste </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>time since our friends might be in danger.  If you aren’t back within another minute of the given seven, we’re deeming you MIA. Got it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Josh sighed, waving him off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. We’re counting on you, Josh,” Byron smiled, determination written on his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory gave Josh a taunting smile. “Don’t do anything too reckless, soldier.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>one to talk,” Josh scoffed before getting up and starting his trek around the perimeter of the clearing. Eventually he disappeared into the trees, leaving Byron and Jory alone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So...what are we supposed to do?” Jory said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We wait. But while we wait let’s do something proactive. Clear out the ground right here for me, will you? Once Josh comes back I’ll need to make some diagrams. As for me, I’m going to go find me a good writing stick. Be back in a sec.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron got up and gingerly stepped away into the woods. Jory stared at the ground in front of him and sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate waiting…”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>After carefully circling around the clearing, Josh continued in the direction of the giant man from earlier. It wasn’t long before he heard someone yell causing him to rush behind a tree for safety. Reassessing the situation, Josh carefully worked his way to a tree closer to the sound, peeking around to get a look at the situation. He found himself at a smaller clearing in the woods, this one natural. He saw Charlie, Drew, and Ben almost instantly, as they were held at gunpoint with their arms in the air by four soldiers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span>Well that’s some shit</span></em><span>,</span> <span>Josh noted mentally.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh looked for a way to get closer; luckily there was a fallen tree farther back from his position, cracked in two, and stretching around the clearing toward the soldiers. Josh gingerly moved back and crawled behind it, then army-crawled all the way around it until he was within earshot of the soldiers, going completely unnoticed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Search them,” Josh heard a gruff voice say, and he immediately pinned him as the Commanding Officer. “Take anything that might aid in an escape...then tie them up. We’ll figure out what to do with them when we’re done here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Drew, Ben, and Charlie were silent as the soldiers did just that. Meanwhile, Josh found a bush growing conveniently right next to the fallen tree and used that for cover to get a view of the situation. Moving a branch slowly downward, Josh spotted Drew, Charlie and Ben all being patted down at gunpoint, the two soldiers divvying up the task so that one of them searched while the other held them at gunpoint from a couple yards away. Then he noticed four other figures. The first three all stood around the last who was on the ground. One of the standing figures was dressed like a military officer while the other two were more or less normally clothed. The man dressed like an officer impatiently tapped his foot with his arms crossed while another, a girl not much older than Josh, stood lazily beside him. Finally, the last of the three, a man with his back turned, stood a few feet away and was talking into some kind of communications device. Josh tried to get a better angle to see the figure on the ground. It was a woman, bound and gagged, her once-elaborately-styled scarlet hair spread and tangled around her head. Josh immediately pegged her as the girl who spoke to the others telepathically. It was at this moment that the man tapping his foot gave in to his agitation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dammit! Where is Fuyuki!? She should have been done with her job by now! What’s taking so long!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Commander,” the girl beside him said, stretching her arms behind her back. “But it seems to me like your happy promotion isn’t shaping up to what it was supposed to be. What a pity.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t need to hear that from </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Genesis,” the Commander sneered. “Or is it that you actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> this mission to fail?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The mission, no. But </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, absolutely. One less person vying for </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> position.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> attached. You might cry when I rip it out from under you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can try. But we both know you can’t beat me in a fight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the Commander growled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Genesis” folded her arms and shook her head. The Commander turned toward the man on the communicator who had just ended transmission.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you!” the Commander yelled. “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going on out there!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The man pocketed his communicator and turned, adjusting the pitch-black glasses on his face with his middle finger.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuyuki is off the grid. Whatever happened to her, her line is dead. As for our troops, I issued a total recall but no one is responding.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander’s face turns pale. Genesis laughed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, look at that,” Genesis said. “Seems like someone is picking them off.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander turned to look at the girl on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You called for help, didn’t you?! This is all </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> fault!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander reared his leg back. There was a thump followed by a muffled cry, and Josh cringed. Straightening himself out, the Commander then addressed the girl once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And I suppose you’re not going to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But no matter…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander turned to Ben, Drew and Charlie who had finished being searched and were now being tied up. He smiled maliciously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We have </span>
  <em>
    <span>them </span>
  </em>
  <span>to help with that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That is, </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> those boys have anything worthwhile to say,” the man with glasses interjected. “If they were behind our troops disappearing then they probably would have fought back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So the enemy is still out there, huh?” Genesis thought aloud. She puts her arms behind her head to stretch. “Regardless of what happens, it’s your call, Wolfie. We’re just here to watch you succeed or fail. ...And clean up your mess in case you do fail.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> call me Wolfie,” the Commander huffed angrily. He then looked at the soldiers who have now finished tying the boys up. While three of them stand with their guns points at the boys, one of them, holding the boy’s phones, reported.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sir! We’ve confiscated all items that would aid in an escape. What should we do with them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just hold on to them for a bit and get back to guarding those kids,” the Commander said, annoyed. He then looked over at the other soldiers, making a snap decision. “You two!” he said, pointing his finger at two of the troops. “Go into the forest and check to see if you can find anyone else. Have your communicators turned on at all times so we can hear what’s happening.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two guards released their attention from the boys and looked at each other, hesitant to leave.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon, I don’t have all day!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, sir!” the two soldier said in unison while saluting.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately after, the two men scrambled to move toward the forest edge on the opposite side of the clearing from Josh. Josh checked his watch. </span>
  <em>
    <span>About two minutes left... Better get going. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Josh began to army crawl his way back toward Byron and Jory. In the meantime he heard the group talking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And so it comes to this,” the Commander snarled. “Who the hell are you kids and what the hell are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, we could ask you the same, right?” Drew responded. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> were just enjoying a nice day at the park. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> guys are the shady ones.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Drew!” Ben whined through his teeth. “What do you think you’re doing!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax, Ben,” Drew assured him. “This guy seems like the reasonable type.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He has us tied up at gunpoint!” Ben wailed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like I said, the reasonable type.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander smiled devilishly. “So we have ourselves a joker, huh? I hope you understand the position you’re in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I understand that the sooner you don’t see us as a threat the sooner we can leave. And believe me, you would know if I were joking. Actually if I wasn’t taking this seriously I’d probably let this guy do the talking,” Drew said, nudging Charlie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you take off my shoe?” Charlie said, addressing the Commander. “I want to know what my feet smell like before I die.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander stared at Charlie in complete bewilderment. Genesis snorted, clutching her mouth to keep her laughter in check. The man with the glasses smiled lightly. Finally Josh reached the end of the fallen tree and attempted to sneak behind another to finally be out of sight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’ll it take to prove we’re harmless, Commander guy?” Drew said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” the Commander began, “we could always just </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>SNAP!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh looked down in panic at the broken twig beneath his foot. He immediately dashed behind the tree in front of him, putting his back to it and breathing heavily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, let's leave blood everywhere and basically paint a giant target on our operations. Great thinking, Commander,” Genesis sneered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll try to get a line out to HQ,” the man with the glasses said. “See if I can get someone out here to erase their memories and send them on their way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’ll take too long,” the Commander said. “Our mission is to get the girl out of here as fast as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The man adjusted his glasses again. “No, our mission is to get her out of here with the item she took without anyone knowing we were here to begin with. We have three intruders here and more unknown. Since the mission is a failure, I’m calling in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Commander gritted his teeth. Genesis grinned. After realizing they didn’t hear him, Josh sighed in relief. But just before he could begin his trek back to the others something else caught him off guard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So you’ve found me… Your friends are in danger. Show us your resolve.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh froze then relaxes, realizing that he’d heard about this kind of thing before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, can I do this now? Can you hear me? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Josh thought as clearly as possible. A moment passed by but he got no reply. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Guess not, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Josh shrugged (although admittedly a little disappointed) then started again on his way back to Byron and Jory.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Byron and Jory waited patiently, if a little nervously for Josh’s return. In his absence, they had discussed a few general strategies, clearing the ground in front of them to draw a few diagrams. Suddenly, a bush near them rustled, and the two took up defensive positions. Byron glanced at his watch, sighed, and relaxed. Just in time, Josh had returned. Josh clambered awkwardly out of the bush.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Byron. Sup', dumbass.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who you calling dumbass, asshole?!” Jory raged. “And besides, how come you use BYRON'S name and then you don't use mine!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I don't like you. That's why.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jory made inaudible complaints under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...Good to see you too, Josh,” Byron said, ignoring their exchange. “Moving on, status report?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting next to Byron, Josh went right ahead with his report. “First, the good news. Drew, Ben and Charlie are still alive, surprisingly.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, thank God,” Jory said, putting a hand to his chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> good news,” Byron said. “What else you got?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> good news: you guys aren’t crazy because I heard the girl speak telepathically too. Oh, and she’s there by the way. Forgot to mention that. Although I’m not sure if that counts as good news.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll take it,” Byron said as he stretches. “But what’s the catch?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s the bad news,” Josh said. “The others and the girl are all tied up and are being held captive. Also there are a lot more people involved in this than we thought there were. At the site there are five total—two standard-grade soldiers, identities veiled, one Commanding Officer and two others. The soldiers are armed with M4’s, at least they looked like M4’s. But I don’t know anything about the others and what they can do. Obviously something’s up if they’re not concerned with their identities being known.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Only five?” Jory asked, “We were expecting a lot more than that. Sick, that makes things easier.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well there were seven enemies, two more soldiers, but they were sent into the forest to scout for any remains of their allies. Apparently the girl’s friends basically destroyed the entire force they had. I’ll bet those two didn’t make it either.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron rubbed his chin, thinking hard. “And yet they haven’t taken them out on their own… You said the girl contacted you. What did she say?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Something about ‘showing them our resolve’. I guess they still want us to try to save her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That would explain why they haven’t just taken care of this themselves.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I still don’t get why we have to risk our lives when they have superpowers,” Jory said. “Lazy bastards.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“At this point I think they’re testing us,” Byron said. “But testing us for what…? Anyway the only way we can pass or fail the test is to try to save the girl. Josh, can you start drawing the terrain in the dirt from a bird’s eye view?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can try,” Josh said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron handed his stick to Josh and they traded places.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Next is the second order of business: what do we have to use?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the three of us!” Jory answered enthusiastically, puffing out his chest. Josh poked him in the stomach with the stick and Jory immediately deflated, giving Josh a sour look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Josh ignored him and dug around in his pocket. “This should help,” he offered, producing a large, multi-function pocket knife. “It has a laser pointer, too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Awesome!” Byron exclaimed, excitedly taking the knife and inspecting it. He quickly focused back on the situation, though. “That’s gonna make things a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> easier…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron placed the knife in front of him. After staring at it for a moment he then realized something and began to fish for something in his pocket. He produced his cell phone, showed it to the others, and placed it in front of him along with the knife. The others followed suit. Another moment later, Josh finished his map and handed Byron the stick. They switched places and Byron started drawing figures in the dirt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It isn’t much,” he muttered. “But we </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span> just be able to...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He drew several lines and arrows on the map, numbering them. As he works, Jory tried to grab his phone for a moment, but Byron whacked his hand with the stick without looking and swiftly resumed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>... Fucker,” Jory frowned, cradling his hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know how Byron is,” Josh reminded him, taking great glee in Jory’s pain as he leaned back to relax. “Once he gets into </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> mode, he gets a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> possessive.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, Byron sat back and inspected his handiwork. “So our hero’s journey starts out with a leap of faith... Not what I would have liked, but I guess we have no choice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that?” Jory said, attempting to comprehend Byron’s thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll explain that in a second. Otherwise, as far as I can tell everything is accounted for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Byron stabbed the stick in the middle of the drawing, smiling confidently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s give them a show they’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> forget!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>To Be Continued</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. On The Shoulders of Giants - Part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>On The Shoulders Of Giants - Part 3</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s getting late, but the ominous threat of nightfall still seemed a while away. With enough light to see clearly, Ben, Charlie and Drew (who were tied back-to-back by the trunk of the overturned tree Josh snuck around earlier) continued to bide their time surrounded by two soldiers standing as sentries. The Commander by now was pacing back and forth impatiently. Meanwhile, Charlie was stretching his tongue toward one of the soldiers to gain as much distance as possible, Genesis staring intently at the scene and holding back her laughter in the background. Charlie finally put his tongue away, if only just to speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Mr. Soldier,” Charlie said, half whispering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...But the thought wasn’t finished as the Commander swiftly turned to him to interject. “For the LAST TIME: you CANNOT lick his GUN!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s your choice,” Charlie said flatly. “He could always just do it anyway and ignore you, Commander guy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie smiled at the soldier gleefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m counting on you to be a rebel, Mr. Soldier. Trust me, once you try mutiny you’ll never go back to listening to people in charge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier chuckled. Genesis bursted into laughter yet again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This kid’s a riot!” she exhaled. “Hey, Wolfie, why can’t you be funny like this guy? Maybe people would like you more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander ignored her, looking eagerly at the man with glasses who was still using the communicator.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> done over there?” the Commander called angrily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man with glasses finally turned, ending the transmission and pocketing the communicator. “Looks like we’re on our own. The standby teams are ready to help, but without Fuyuki they’re hesitant to take down the barrier.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So they’re leaving us for dead!?” the Commander said, his voice dangerous. “Someone is messing with our communications, our entire force is gone, and the last troops we sent out were taken care of without so much as a single shot! You’re telling me that after ALL THAT they aren’t willing to help us with the most important mission we’ve ever had!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know how it is with this kind of thing. We can’t draw attention to ourselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander’s face contorted in rage. He turned to the girl who was still restrained on the ground. She gazed up at him with determined eyes, preparing for the worst.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You just HAD to call for help, didn’t you!?” The Commander said, slowly stalking over to her. “Traitors like you don’t deserve mercy! Do you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> guilt!? Do you!? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Witch</span>
  </em>
  <span>!?” The Commander was at last upon her. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> give you something to be sorry for!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reared back his leg.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“THIS,” </span><em><span>thunk</span></em><span>,</span> <span>“IS WHAT YOU GET,” </span><em><span>thunk</span></em><span>, “FOR GETTING IN THE WAY,” </span><em><span>thunk</span></em><span>, “OF MY PROMOTION!!!” </span><em><span>Thunk.</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three boys winced at each kick. The girl made a muffled, pained sound and curled into a ball.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, you should really be more careful with her,” Genesis said. “The man up top’ll have your head if he finds out you hurt her in any way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tch. She heals it all off anyway,” the Commander said gruffly. “Not like </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> ever find out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genesis grinned. “As long as </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t tell him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have no proof!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno about that. Boxie, back me up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man with glasses adjusted them again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First of all, the code name is Lid. Secondly, whether he finds out about that or not is irrelevant to me. My priority is the mission. And I believe it should be the same way for the both of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genesis frowned almost as if to say “God, you’re no fun.” The Commander turned and spoke to the heavens.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the mission! This God damn mission! I swear if one more thing happens that gets in the way of this mission, I’m gonna—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost as if on cue, a phone started ringing from somewhere nearby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which one of you did it?” the Commander snapped, rounding on the boys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all looked at each other, puzzled. “You took our phones away and tied us up,” Drew said flatly. “Don’t look at us, dip-shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander turned his glare to the girl, who only stared back blankly at him. He then growled and pointed to one of his soldiers. “You there! Go see if it’s another kid or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier snapped to attention, saluted, and headed in the direction of the noise. While he walked, gun at the ready, the ringtone grew louder...then stopped. He glanced around, confused, but then the ringing started again, much further away. He followed the sound, but then it stopped once more. By the time he reached around where the sound was coming from the second time, the soldier realized with dread that he’s lost...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And being led!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He whipped around from side to side, ready to shoot at anything that moved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I know you’re out there!” the man said nervously. “Show yourself!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh and Jory hid behind trees not far from the man. Jory gritted his teeth while Josh stood steadfast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If Byron’s right, then they should be here to take care of him, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Josh recounted to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man with the gun pointed it around a few more times before cautiously backing away. As he left Jory crossed his fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>C’mon! Can’t you do this one thing for us! Show us you’re willing to help!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately after that thought a colorful explosion blindsided the man with the gun, sending him flying off his feet and forcing him to discard his weapon. As Josh and Jory revealed themselves from their hiding spots two other figures emerged from the trees from whence the blast came. They also donned animal masks, the first a rat the second a rooster...and Josh couldn’t help but notice the latter’s long, pointy ears. Jory looked over at the man who once held the gun hearing him groan in pain. The man with the rat mask casually strode over to the gun and picked it up shortly after looking directly at Josh, while the other walked toward the soldier. Josh attempted to get something out of his mouth but before he could the man with the rat mask outstretched his arm, as if to give the gun to Josh. Josh, surprised, gingerly walked up to the man and took it from him. Once in his possession, Josh backed away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks…?” Josh said awkwardly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without a word the man turned toward his ally with the rooster mask as the latter finally reached the soldier. As soon as he was upon him he bashed the soldier’s head into the ground, knocking him out cold. He then slipped his head under the unconscious man’s arm and hoisted him upward. Then the two figures began to make their way away from the boys into the forest, not bothering with any further interaction...except for the odd motion by the man with the rat mask giving a two-fingered salute with his back turned. Josh and Jory stared at them and then glanced at each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was so fucking cool,” Jory said. “Can I do that sometime?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, I hope not,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right, I shouldn’t have asked </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>if I can do anything fun. Still, that went a lot better than expected.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s almost as if he knew what we were going to ask.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Either way, we got what we wanted. Let’s report back to Byron. He’ll be glad to know his plan is working out so far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two turned their backs to the scene that just occurred and started off toward their friend.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A while passed since the soldier was sent out into the forest. The Commander, Lid and Genesis were all standing around the girl on the ground, each at various levels of sanity. Charlie, Drew and Ben continued to sit there at gunpoint by the last soldier, however Charlie was up to his usual antics.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Hey, you. Yeah, you. You there. There you. Here you. You you. You—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander swirled around and screamed at him. “We’ve already gone through everyone here! Figure out who you’re talking to or </span>
  <em>
    <span>shut the hell up!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh. Ruuuude. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was talking to myself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you talking like you’re trying to get someone’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>attention!?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well maybe I was trying to get my own attention and was ignoring myself? Ever think of that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander facepalmed. “You’re beyond reason...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like he has you beat, Wolfie,”  Genesis snickered. “You have to hand it to him: he doesn’t seem to be short on material.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care about that! Nothing that’s going on here makes any sense anymore! There was nothing like any of this in the mission briefing!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww, cheer up, Wolfie. Look on the bright side: whoever took on our troops hasn’t attacked us yet. If they continue to wait, maybe HQ will have a change of heart and you might even keep your job.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander bared his teeth and looked over in Alice’s direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d bet my entire career on that</span>
  <em>
    <span> witch</span>
  </em>
  <span> being up to something. But if the people picking off our troops really are her allies then they should’ve attacked by now, right? Just what are they waiting for…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it has something to do with these boys?” Lid said. “We had a barrier up so the only possible explanation for them being here is that our sweep didn’t catch them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I bet they’re all in on whatever’s going on here,” the Commander snarled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genesis looked over at the boys. Ben’s face looked like that of a deer perpetually caught in headlights while Charlie was still talking to himself. Drew looked right back at her, giving her a flirtatious wink. She smiled at her previous thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Somehow, I really doubt that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why would she call on three normal kids!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of,” Lid said, “what are we going to do with them? They’ve been here for a while now and they’ve seen and heard a bit more than they should. If we’re attacked and they manage to escape, that could harm our operations in the future.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander crossed his arms, nodding to himself in thought. He then raised his open hand—gripping it into a fist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, we could always </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘em.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genesis and Lid looked at one another questioningly, this time considering Wolfman’s proposition.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you think are the chances none of the standby teams have someone who can clean up a body?” Genesis said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d say the chances are pretty slim,” Lid said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But...we can’t, right? People can’t just disappear unless it’s ordered by HQ…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie kicked into a few more rounds of addressing himself. Ben’s worry reached a fever pitch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to die. I’m going to die while listening to someone talk with themselves…!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no, Ben,” Charlie said, “if I were talking with myself I’d be having a conversation. But part of me is ignoring myself so we can’t possibly be conversing. Gosh, can’t you even do basic geometry? I mean, oh my God, Ben. Like, ohhh maaaah gaaaaawd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew frowned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Looks like they’re finally starting to panic. We need to think of a way to get out of here, quick, before they actually decide to off us.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then something entered Drew’s right eye causing him to flinch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now looking down at his chest, he suddenly spotted something amazing: a red light! It flashed twice and he looked up in its direction—it’s Byron at the opposite end of the clearing, completely hidden from the others. A wave of realization left a grin on Drew’s face. He started whispering to the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t look but Byron just signalled me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Where?!” Ben said, almost forgetting to whisper.</span><span><br/></span><span><br/></span> <span>“</span><em><span>I said don’t look!”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie stopped talking to himself if only for a moment. “I wanna looooookkkkk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, now it makes sense,” Ben begans, “they must have called my phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which means we ain’t done yet,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...So what do we do?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could distract ‘em with my next big hit: the Smoke Dope song, as sung by Rick Astley,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeahhh...no, don’t do that,” Drew said. “But I’m all over the distracting part.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew suddenly raised his voice, getting the attention of the others. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Commander stick-up-the-ass, I gotta go to the bathroom—like, now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben quickly reacted, employing his superb thespian skills. “Oohhhh, no! No way!” He squirmed and exaggerated. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to sit in his </span>
  <em>
    <span>piss!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Let him go, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yellow stains!” Charlie said excitedly in falsetto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander just huffed at them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think we’re dumb enough to fall for that million-year-old trick? This isn’t some movie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m not stupid, alright?” Drew said crossly. “You’re all highly trained and have superpowers, I got it—just let me use a freakin’ tree before I die, man. Is that too much to ask for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie piped in too. “Yeah, seriously. If we’re gonna die here, at least let us have the dignity of being dead and </span>
  <em>
    <span>dry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander thought some more. Genesis leaned in and whispered to him, Lid doing the same soon after. For a good minute the three huddled together and whispered amongst themselves until Genesis stepped back from the group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s a plan,” Genesis said, clapping her hands together, alerting the boys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander also looked over at his hostages. “Looks like it’s your lucky day, kid. Alright, I’ll let you go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He motioned for the last gunman to help Drew up and take him toward them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But there’s a few conditions for this that you should be aware of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m all ears,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even if for some reason you end up free, you are to return here anyways. If you don’t we’re going to start by crushing your friend’s hands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander said this last part with a malicious grin all while giving Charlie and Ben a condescending point. At the gesture, Ben’s face turned whiter than freshly laid snow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, anything else?” Drew said, unwaveringly with a shrug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The only other thing is that if you meet someone out there you are to ask them what the hell they want with us. Got it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loud and clear,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And no funny business. If I sense that something like that has happened we’ll be breaking their hands anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, I promise not to do anything funny,” Drew grumbled. “Now let’s get this over with, alright? I’ve got to squeeze the lemon if you know what I’m sayin’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander motioned to the soldier and he helped Drew up. After cutting the zip ties holding Drew’s hands behind his back and retying them with new ones in his front, the two began walking toward the forest. Drew looked over at the others, Charlie smiling without a care in the world, Ben on the verge of tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, Drew,” Ben said weakly. “Please don’t leave us here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t get your skirt in a knot,” Drew said. “Have I ever bailed on my friends before?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were planning to not even thirty minutes ago!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I forgot about that…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, the two moved into the forest and out of sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew and the soldier walked for a bit, Drew following the red dot on the ground that showed up every few feet or so. The light finally flashed three times at the base of a tree, signaling Drew to stop. “This’ll do,” he said, looking the tree up and down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew headed around the trunk. The soldier tried to follow, but Drew popped his head out from around the trunk. “Uh, a little privacy, please?” he asked, sounding offended. The soldier gave a short huff and turned to stay sentry by the tree. After a moment, a light flashed in his eye and he winced. Then he saw Byron waving from behind a tree a few yards away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you! Get over here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier started off toward Byron, but instantly stopped when he ran into the right jab of a small figure to the gut that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The soldier looked down at the figure just long enough to see the mask of a boar before buckling over and fainting as the tiny attacker vanished from sight. Satisfied, Byron left his hiding place. Drew met him halfway, staring at the crippled body of the soldier on the ground. Drew looked at Byron while Byron whipped the knife back out and got to work cutting Drew’s bindings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, I didn’t think you guys were gonna come.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Drew,” Byron said cheerily, “you know we’re not the types to turn down a challenge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or avoid getting help from the shadiest of strangers, I see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well they </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>challenge us.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Snap.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The strip of plastic fell to the ground and Byron gave a playful smile. Drew rubbed his wrists and turned to look at the now-unconscious soldier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have SO many questions. What and who the hell was that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t know. But I do know that they’re on that girl’s side, so I guess they’re fighting with us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And do you know what they want? Or even how many there are? And how about how the hell that kid just did what they did?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None of that in the slightest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew sighed. “Yeah, I guess I should expect that by now. Anyway, what are we gonna do with sleeping beauty over there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron grinned wolfishly. “Strip him. Then we just leave him here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds kinky... But I highly doubt leaving a man half-naked in the woods is going to accomplish anything. Hell-of-a-good-prank though, if I do say so myself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, but don’t you worry, Drew. All part of the plan,” Byron said while tapping his temple with a finger. “After that we have to get you back to the site.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron leaned over the unconscious soldier to search his pockets. After some fishing he produced a new zip tie and tossed it to Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Retie yourself—but make sure it’s inside-out and tight enough to make it convincing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what?" Drew double-taked. "You’re just sending me back? That’s it? Nothing else?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron answered nonchalantly. “Well, yeah. You promised </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t do anything funny, remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew’s eyes gleamed. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> say that, didn’t I...?”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A few more minutes passed. Back at the site, the Commander scowled. It’s still light enough that things could be seen in detail...and Charlie had started his fourth round of singing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie took a deep breath and belted out, “HOW MANY OREOS DOES IT TAKE TO KILL A MONKEY WITH </span>
  <b>
    <em>DIABETES~?!</em>
  </b>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DO YOU EVER </span>
  <em>
    <span>SHUT UP?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the Commander finally snapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie took another deep breath, then said plainly, “No. HOW MANY OREOS DOES IT TAKE...” and he continued singing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no off button with this kid…” Genesis said, giggling a little. “You know, I’m kind of glad he’s around. Waiting in silence would’ve been the worst.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lid adjusted his glasses. “I liked it better when he was talking to himself...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m curious though…” Genesis said, looking over at Ben who shrunk at her gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, is he like this all the time?” Genesis asked. “Like, do you have to deal with this kind of thing day-in and day-out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben took a moment to realize she wasn’t attacking him. He cleared his throat to talk over Charlie. "It's not as bad as you would imagine…but yes, this is what we have to deal with."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“More like </span>
  <em>
    <span>put up with</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the Commander said while glowering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To that, Charlie’s singing intensified, as if to annoy the Commander further. Just when the Commander was about to get up and wring the boy’s neck himself, Drew stumbled out into the clearing not far from Ben and Charlie, followed by the guard from before. Charlie’s warbling immediately stopped. The Commander spoke to the guard, visibly irritated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You! What the hell took you so long!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier stood at salute. "My apologies, sir! How should I say this…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander narrowed his eyes slightly, visibly calming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spit it out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He peed for a very long time, sir! I wasn’t expecting that much liquid, sir!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander looked at Drew with suspicion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, you'd want to piss floods too if you were tied up and had a gun pointed at you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier ushered Drew back to the others. Meanwhile the three agents exchanged light glances with each other and began moving to different positions relative to the boys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t suppose you have anything to tell us?” Genesis said, keeping a cool front.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew sat down by Ben and Charlie, who both looked at him strangely, and the soldier resumed his task as sentry. “Yeah, the tree I pissed on sends its regards. Otherwise, I’ve got nothing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, you say?” the Commander said confidently as he looked toward the boys with glints in his eyes. “Are you sure about—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my, what is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory appeared from a bush on the other side of the clearing from where Drew entered the scene, catching the three off guard (to Ben’s utter despair. “We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>doomed</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he groaned).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am but a lost boy wandering in the forest, minding my own business,” he continued excessively enthusiastically. “And here I find </span>
  <em>
    <span>three</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicious strangers and what looks like a possible rape victim!” Jory scratched his chin. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hmmmmmm</span>
  </em>
  <span>, maybe I should call the </span>
  <em>
    <span>police!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory made a big show of pulling his phone out and dialing in numbers one by one. The soldier guarding the boys swung his barrel toward Jory. The Commander started to pull out a pistol, but stiffened when he was interrupted by another figure with a gun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Freeze, motherfucker!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Josh shouted forcefully, popping out from another bush. Reverting to a hard, military voice, he continued: “Drop your weapon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander “hmph”ed and the pistol dropped from his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t this the predicament?” Genesis said. “Although technically we’re even. Soldier, go back to pointing the gun at the hostages.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roger that,” the Soldier said…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But instead of pointing his firearm at the boys, he pointed it at </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> instead. Genesis raised her eyebrows. Lid lowered his eyes and smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All of you, put your hands in the air. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the traitorous soldier said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all casually complied. With the coast clear, Drew took his arms out from behind himself, then took the pocket knife out of his shorts and began to free the others starting with Charlie and then moving on to Ben, afterwards helping Ben up and giving him directions. At the same time, Jory made his way over to the soldier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kick the gun over here then move away from the girl, all of you,” the soldier said to the Commander.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander complied in part by kicking the pistol toward the boys but the three agents didn’t move an inch away from the girl. Jory arrived by the soldier’s side and with Ben (who exhibits a wildly unamused face) helped the soldier take off their vest and pants all the while the soldier keeping his opponents at gunpoint. At the same time, Drew picked up the pistol from the ground and leveled the barrel at the newfound hostages.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Worked like a charm, brosef.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soldier handed his gun to Jory (who immediately trained the weapon at the agents) then took off his shirt and mask in one fell swoop, revealing Byron.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A job well done, team,” Byron said after swishing his hair to get the sweat out and throwing the clothes on the ground. “But we’re not out of the woods yet. I’ll say it again, you three: step away from the girl,” Byron said while folding his arms and cocking a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the Commander chuckled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to hand it to you kids,” he said smugly while clapping mockingly. “You work better than a standard special ops team... But, do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> think this is over? Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> think you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>won</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew leveled his gun at the Commander. “Well, yeah,” he answered condescendingly. “We’ve taken you prisoner and we’re about to rescue the girl. Looks like a win to me. Now sit down before I </span>
  <em>
    <span>mow</span>
  </em>
  <span> you down, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wolfie</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander’s laughing grew hysteric. Drew and the others exchanged looks, but then the laughing suddenly stopped. The Commander looked up, his crazed eyes turning golden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks can be DECEIVING!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander’s body bulged underneath his uniform, growing bigger and bulkier, as dark hair sprouted from every inch of his skin. His face became slimmer and a furry snout grew with two jagged rows of teeth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boys backed off, their weapons bearing down on the still-growing monster. The Commander’s hands and feet became clawed, paw-like distortions of their original forms and his legs became bowed like a four-legged animal, yet he remained standing upright. The uniform melted into fur as he loosed a blood-curdling howl. Right before their eyes, the Commander had transformed into a giant, wolf-man hybrid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You kids don’t have any idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into!” he growled, licking his snout. “But now that you’ve all made an appearance, how about we play a little game: who’s really hostage here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander took a step toward the boys and Ben took a step back, immediately running up against an invisible wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, guys?” Ben said worriedly. “We can’t leave...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron’s eyes darted to Lid who merely adjusted his glasses yet again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s his power, just like Drew said. Now the real test...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh’s eyes narrowed. “Least I don’t have a bullet in my head.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh braced the rifle against his shoulder and pulled the trigger, a single bullet whizzing toward the Commander, but it bounced off of a blue, patterned, dome-like shield that extended out from Genesis who had one hand in her pocket while the other dangled lazily to her side. Jory noticed Genesis’ eager expression and stared at her down the barrel of his gun while complaining about the situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welp, couldn’t know about the shield,” Byron said in disappointment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Looks like they had us pinned from the get-go.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blue shield contracted as the three antagonists lined up in single file toward the boys. Byron, Ben and Charlie took the rear—Drew, Josh and Jory standing in front with their guns out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Going down with a fight? That’s fine with me. It’s no fun if my prey doesn’t put up some sort of struggle!” the Commander snarled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The enemy group grew closer and closer while the boys stuck to standing their ground. The Commander viewed their faces one by one: fear, anxiety, determination...confidence? Byron’s face was lit with a devilish grin and the Commander realized immediately that something wasn’t right. Suddenly two more figures in animal masks exploded onto the scene: the horse and the rabbit. In an instant, the girl on the ground was enveloped in a blue light, lifted up and thrown at the boys, her restraints being torn off in the process. She hit the ground on her feet right in front of Drew. At the same time, the person with the rabbit mask turned toward the boys, pointing a gun-like device behind them and fired, two lines of numbers circled around where the muzzle would be before a flash of light occurred, shattering the invisible wall. Byron, thinking quickly, gave order to the group:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fall back! We’re getting out of here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group of seven turned tail, sprinting away from the scene while their replacements squared off against their former captors. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The six boys and the girl ran through the forest as fast as their legs could carry them as the sun unrelentingly marched toward the horizon, shading the woods around them in twilight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rrgh! Fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can’t believe we’re running away </span>
  <em>
    <span>again!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jory whined.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you not </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>the forcefield?” Drew said, trying not the choke on his words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>invisible,” Josh said between breaths.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All I saw were my hopes and dreams of a delicious Big Mac getting further and further away,” Charlie said, then taking a huge breath afterwards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie smacked the girl on her back almost causing her to stumble. She gave him an unwelcome look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, do you like McDonald’s?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s face turned visibly irritated. “Can we </span>
  <em>
    <span>focus</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>those guys that helped us?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me, Josh and Jory found out about them when we were coming to find you. They’re with her,” Byron said, motioning to the girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay? And who is she—” Drew began to say but failed to see plantlife coming up from the ground. He tripped and fell flat on his stomach, his gun falling near him in the dirt. Everyone stopped and rushed over to help him. As Drew tried to stand up, he yelled in pain and fell back over, holding his ankle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Son of a whore, my ankle…!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the group heard a wolf’s howl echoing from behind them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding </span>
  </em>
  <span>me?! How are those bastards already after us?!” Jory wailed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to figure out a counteroffensive plan, stat,” Byron said calmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl looked in the direction of the howl. She silently walked over to the gun that Drew dropped and picked it up. Turning to Byron she then grabbed his sleeve, pulling him slightly away from Drew’s direction. She then turned back to him and placed the gun in his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Choose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s eyes widened. “What?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck that! I can carry him—” Jory started but he was interrupted by another howl, signifying that the Commander coming their way was gaining fast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron stared at the gun and then the girl’s face, her resolute, purple eyes cutting into him. He double-taked at the sight but shook the thought from his head. Taking a moment to consider her actions while his eyes narrowed...he slowly took the gun from her and turned to the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Byron, are you serious!?” Jory said in desperation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve trusted her up to this point and everything’s gone smoothly. I’ll be damned if I don’t trust her again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron grabbed the girl by the arm and yanked her away, both of them beginning to run. Charlie waved Drew goodbye as he took off backwards and then transitioned into a sprint behind Byron. Josh and Ben, begrudgingly, followed behind Charlie. Jory cursed and fled as well, Drew holding out his hands in disbelief and then back to holding his ankle again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>cool! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ll just sit here and fuck off then! Thanks, guys! And y’know—thank YOU, random stranger girl! Thank you SO much!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as he ended his speech both a grey wolf (that looked an awful lot like the Commander) and Genesis who was, surprisingly, literally flying entered the scene. The two saw Drew clutching his ankle, knowing that the group left him behind due to his injury.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You take care of this one—I’ll go after the other brats!” the wolf remarkably said (confirming Drew’s suspicion that it is, in fact, the Commander) as he sped off in front of Genesis and past Drew who flinched. Drew swung around to see Genesis softly landing on the ground and she began to walk toward him. Drew, realizing the gig was up, employed his last defense while a shield began to form around the encroaching girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now see, you</span>
  <em>
    <span> could </span>
  </em>
  <span>kill me…” Drew said, trying to keep a cool front, “but then you’d miss out on some really awesome, horizontal-happy-dance action. What do ya say?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh, sorry, you’re not my type.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Worth a try, I guess…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the shield began to expand, a cloaked figure fell in from above, standing in front of Drew and slicing straight through it with a crystalline, purple sword, causing it to shatter. Genesis’ eyes widened in shock, the figure swiping the sword to the side and beginning to walk toward her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHAT!? HOW!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genesis created another shield to hit the opposing foe but the figure merely slashed at it too, shattering it once again. Again and again Genesis repeated the same attack and it was thwarted the same way every time, all the while the figure growing closer and closer to her. A shield shattered one last time and at last the figure was upon her. Genesis cowered in fear as the figure raised the sword in preparation to strike. But just as the figure was about to bring the sword down it dissipated and his hand...patted her on the head twice. Genesis stared at the non-attack in disbelief and then her eyes slowly glazed over and her body went limp. After a short pause to make sure she was really out cold, the figure turned to Drew who was still on the ground, clutching his ankle but awestruck at what he just witnessed. The figure began to walk toward him revealing his own mask: that of a dog. Finally the figure reached Drew but merely stared down at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew hesitated but eventually gave in. “So uh...I guess you’re with those other guys, huh? Thanks for savin’ my bacon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stranger didn’t respond...but instead gave him a solid thumbs up. Drew smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh. Neat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that the figure made a gesture as if telling Drew to wait for a moment. They reached into a pocket and produced a small, shiny object. The figure placed the object in their palm and then extended their hand, beckoning Drew to take it. Drew slowly realized the intention of the figure and carefully took the object from their palm. He examined it for a moment, not sure what to make of the stranger’s actions; it was a ring with foreign markings running along its outer rim. Drew stared at the figure who simply stared back at him and nodded. Taking the hint, Drew slipped the ring onto his ring finger. And then...the figure began to speak in a foreign language!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Meht ro fes oohcuo yod tahw. Kcab gni ogonsere ht dehsilbatse sitcar tn oceht ecno. Eso ohco tte gy ehtwon. Sse msihtn ide vlov nis dneirfru oy teg otno isicede htedamen on esoh ceht.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew’s face contorted with confusion...but then twisted with shock and realization at the fact that he understood the words. Urgently he tried to stand. At first he wavered on his feet, his ankle still throbbing, but soon he steadied himself. Without warning, Drew heard rustling nearby. He turned toward its direction and saw another figure, this one with a tiger mask. The figure waved to him playfully and immediately Drew felt the tension in his ankle disappear. He looked back at the figure only to see them making a “shoo” gesture while also striking a silent laugh pose. Drew smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then took off running in the direction of the others. The individual with the tiger mask emerged from the brush and walked over to the cloaked figure with the dog mask, the latter offering the former a high five. The tiger masked figure returned the offer and the two turned in the direction of their other allies.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ben, Byron, Charlie, Josh, Jory and the girl continued to run through the forest. It’s been eerily quiet and the group was starting to worry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“By now that wolf guy should’ve caught up with us!” Ben said, panicking. “He’s going to attack any minute, I can feel it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s great and all, Ben,” Josh said, “but what are we supposed to do about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron looked around, tallying up his options. “We have no choice but to fight. Set up a defensive position and stand your ground.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oy, but what if one of the other people is with him?” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who gives a shit?! We’ll kill them along with that son of a bitch! The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go back for Drew!” Jory replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group ground to a halt and Byron directioned them into various positions: Ben, Charlie and the girl in the middle while Byron, Josh and Jory surrounded them in the formation of a triangle to cover as many angles of attack as possible. The three boys with guns stood with their arms at the ready, glancing back and forth in anticipation. Without warning a wolf jumped into the scene like a bullet out of a bush near Josh and careened toward him. Before Josh could get a word out of his mouth the wolf was upon him, ripping into his arm with its teeth. Ben tried to sound the alarm but Josh opened fire, his bullets scattering into the dirt. Before Jory and Byron could respond, the Commander let go of Josh with his fangs, transformed into his giant, half-man-half-wolf form again and attempted to slash Josh across the chest. Thinking quickly, Josh put the gun between himself and the massive paw of the hairy beast shattered the gun upon impact, shards of metal scattering everywhere and throwing the boy away. Byron and Jory turned to attempt to attack the enemy, the former reacting faster and steadying a shot at the Commander, but the wolfman quickly moved into the center of the group... </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still don’t believe in nightmares, kiddies?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...and kicked both Charlie and the girl at Jory and Byron respectively, Jory cursing in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s too bad... </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re in one!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl’s body slammed into Byron head-on, knocking him off balance while the pistol flew from his hand, but not before firing a shot which whizzed past the wolfman’s immediately tilted head, the latter grinning devilishly as if he knew the angle the bullet would come at. On Jory’s end, Charlie slammed into him and both of them flew back into a tree. Charlie quickly rolled off of Jory who’s attention quickly turned to the creature. Towering over Ben, who stood there paralyzed in fear, the Commander raised a massive furry claw and swiped to the side, ripping into Ben and sending him flying into yet another nearby tree. The Commander turned toward Jory with a grin from hell and Jory’s face turned white. Meanwhile Charlie dodge-rolled over to Jory’s dropped gun and now pointed it at the Commander. The Commander made a pose at Charlie as if he was going to flick him from afar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I’m not supposed to kill you all...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander flicked the air and suddenly the gun flew from Charlie’s hand and clattered on the ground near Jory. Josh finally picked himself up and looked over at Jory who sat there wide-eyed and in a trance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...but if you accidentally die from internal bleeding before help arrives…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wolfman launched into the air and flicked at Charlie again, this time knocking him off balance while tearing a hole in his clothes. The Commander did a flip in the air coming down on top of Charlie, sandwiching his stomach between a furry foot and the ground causing Charlie to cough up spit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...then that’s just your bad luck!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie’s body went limp and the Commander turned toward Byron. The girl was sitting up next to him but he appeared to be out cold.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile Josh reached Jory. Taking the gun from his side, he rebuked the unresponsive boy, “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh turned toward the Commander who had turned into a wolf and was barreling toward them. He steadied his shot and pulled the trigger…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Click.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But nothing happened. In the same moment the wolf launched into the air above Josh and Jory, doing a frontflip while transforming into the wolfman form and landing on top of Josh, grabbing him by the throat. Josh’s eyes darted to his gun which clattered to the ground next to him… The safety was still on! The Commander reared back a fist and slammed Josh in the gut, a small spittle of blood flying from his lips. Miraculously Josh was still conscious and the Commander hoisted him up into the air while Jory watched in horror from right below them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still got some fight in you, huh? I have to say I’m impressed. Some of you really aren’t worth killing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh spat blood in the beast’s eye. The Commander snarled and slammed Josh into the ground, knocking him unconscious as well. After tossing Josh’s limp body aside, he turned his attention to Jory...the only one left standing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander chuckled darkly. “I can see the fear in your eyes—the utter disbelief! What’s wrong? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wolf got your tongue?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory looked down at his hands as if thinking to himself. The Commander took that as a sign of resignation and went for the finishing blow—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop or I’ll shoot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander paused, his claws right in front of Jory’s face and turned to see Byron holding the girl at gunpoint with the gun he dropped earlier. The Commander smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You played dead until I wasn’t paying attention to you anymore using the girl as your eyes. Not bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander turned his whole body toward Byron.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t move. This girl is important to you, right? It would be a shame if her brains ended up all over the ground.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander laughed. “Willing to sacrifice her for the sake of your friend, eh? Hear that, witch? You saviors have turned on you. You sure can pick ‘em.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron glanced at the girl’s face through the corner of his eye; calm, unwavering, stoic… Byron’s eyes narrowed, reasons running through his head. Meanwhile Jory had gotten up behind the Commander, a growing look of anger written on his face. Finally, he snapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>YOU GODDAMN BASTARD!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!!!!</b>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory attempted to punch the Commander but the giant monster swiftly turned around and backhanded him then kneed him in the gut before finally taking his head by the face and slamming it into the tree behind them. Jory went limp and crumpled to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you not to move!” Byron said, driving the barrel of the gun into the girl’s temple.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander turned toward Byron and laughed while inching toward him. “Or what? You’ll shoot her? Go ahead! I dare you to try it! See true despair with your own eyes!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron bit his lip. The Commander continued to walk toward the two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Not going to try it? Alright, then I’ll show you myself!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wolfman launched toward them. Byron steadied the gun toward the Commander but the wolf saw this coming and did the flicking attack from earlier to disarm him. In an instant after that the beast was upon them, stabbing forward into the girl. His paw cleanly cut through the girl’s stomach and into Byron’s as well. Byron yelled out in pain as the Commander withdrew his arm and the two of them fell to the ground. Byron grasped his side, his shirt slowly dying red in blood. The girl’s body fell to the side, blood pouring out onto the ground. Byron stared up at the Commander who licked his blood-stained claws and howled in delight. Byron reached to the girl’s body, shaking her slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why? Why did you ask for our help? What was the point of all of this? Wake up and tell me! If I’m going to die here at least let me know what I was fighting for!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, the girl’s hand shot up and latched onto Byron’s wrist. Byron entered a trance-like state, his mind whizzing and whirling before settling on a few images: a spiral of complex blue, green, and white streamlined tunnels, ending in an area of white light. Both Byron and the girl stood across from each other in this space. A flood of strange images rushed through Byron’s mind, and a voice—the girl’s—spoke over all of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been watching closely,” her voice echoed. Scenes of shrieking souls, and distorted humanoid figures creeping across a large white expanse flashed before them.  “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m sure you have what it takes...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on here?!” Byron exploded, interrupting. “Who are you? </span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you? And what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> just happened to us?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they looked at each other, they each separated into several outlined copies of themselves, some right-side-up, some upside-down. The girl seemed to select her next words carefully. “What you’ve just encountered is a taste of a world that exists alongside the world you’ve always known. People with unbelievable strength, monsters who shouldn’t exist...these things thought only to exist fiction are normalities in this other world. But that world is expanding at an alarming rate and will one day consume yours.”  The figures came back together as she finished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron was stunned. The girl allowed him a moment to consider this before continuing. Scenes of another world flashed before them, stunning visuals of nature and people bustling in massive castle-towns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me something.” It felt less like a request than it did a polite command. “Do you still wish to live in the world you know, now having the knowledge that it will be destroyed before your very eyes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron put his hand to his chin, thinking. “If it’s to be inevitably destroyed,” he began apprehensively, “then there’s no use clinging to it and dying with it...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” the girl noted. “Then I’ll give you a choice: I would like to establish a contract with you. Should you choose to decline my contract, I will save you all only this once—but you will forget everything that has happened and you will be powerless against the tide of the new world. But if you accept my contract, I will grant you the strength to live in this new world—but it will come at a price. By agreeing to my terms, you must grant one wish of mine, no matter what it is, no matter the cost. Are you prepared to accept this fate?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two found themselves in open space—stars, planets and galaxies illuminating the dark horizon. Byron looked down at his hands, then clenched them. He then looked back up, smiling confidently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will accept your contract—but on </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> condition!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl was somewhat taken aback. “...You wish for something more than the ability to live?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your deal only gives </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> this power, no? I’ll only accept if my friends can fight alongside me. It would be no different than if I chose to decline or take this deal as it stood; we would stick together—</span>
  <em>
    <span>powerful or not!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl pondered this for a moment. “From tonight I’ve seen what they’re capable of. Not all of them are fit for this role.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron didn’t hesitate. “Then I’ll make sure they can handle anything this new world can throw at them. Besides, I would regret every moment of my life if I left them to fend for themselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl wasn’t convinced. Byron tried again, this time more forcefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have a wish, right? If not for me, grant them the power to ensure your wish will come true! Either we will fight together or I will die alone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl turned her back to Byron. Byron reached out a hand, thinking she was leaving, but she just stood there. Suddenly, she turned her head back and smiled cutely. “Yes, I think you’re right. But are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> willing to make them share your pain?”  Byron stared back intently, holding firmly, and steadfast in his decision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl turned away again. “Very well, your friends may join you. However, you alone must bear the responsibility of making my wish come true. Do we have a deal?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. From now on, I...no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> enter into this contract!” Byron extended his hand. “Grant us the power to </span>
  <em>
    <span>live!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the space around them began to move. Faster and faster the scene around them flew toward the planet Earth. Eventually the scene came crashing down on the place where Byron laid and his consciousness was once more back in his body, staring down the Commander. To his shock, no time had passed since the girl reached out to him, and she laid unconscious in his arms. The Commander slowly moved forward to finish the job.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, kid, it’s been fun,” he laughed. “But I’ve got </span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> prey to kill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron stood with a hand over his left eye. He started laughing quietly, then loudly and maniacally. The Commander paused, confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you lost it?” he said to Byron as his laughter died down to a mere chuckle. “Did I shock you into insanity? I’m about to beat you senseless—do you really think that’s funny?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> think this is over?” Byron said, his voice eerily calm. “Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> think that you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>won?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander sputtered. “Wh-what are you talking about, kid? Don’t you see the reality before you? Don’t you see that you’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>already lost?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron chuckled coldly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You said it yourself... Looks can be DECEIVING!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He removed his hand from over his eye, which had changed to encompass a red, bird-like sigil. Its “wings” beat as it flew from his eye into the eyes of the Commander.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron dramatically swiped his hand to the side, as though he were a king ordering a servant. “Now, I command you,” he said sternly, “obey my orders! Waste no time: take your allies and leave this place at once! And make sure no one from your organization knows what truly happened here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Commander’s eyes glowed with a red tint around their outer rim. Suddenly, he took human shape once more. Gritting his teeth he took out his communicator, dialed a number, turned tail and began to walk off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HQ? This is Wolfman. Mission aborted. She got away…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of the conversation trailed off as the Commander walked out of view. Byron gazed in his direction for a moment, amazed at what he’d done, but his victory was cut short when another figure stumbled into the scene: Drew who stopped to catch his breath, panting and leaning against a tree. Jory, Josh, Ben, Charlie and the girl laid on the ground in blood and bruises. Byron alone stood in place with a look of terror and amazement. Byron looked over at Drew and Drew saw the symbol in his eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, am I too late?” Drew whispered under his breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately after Byron fell to his knees, the mix of exhaustion and blood loss bringing him down. As he fell to the side, Drew resolved to rush over to him but to his surprise the girl got up from the pool of blood she was laying in and looked straight at him as if telling him not to move. Drew stared at her but was again taken off guard when several figures began to walk past him: the man with the ox mask to his left; the man with the bird mask to the right followed by ten other masked figures split into two lines. Upon passing him, the figure with the tiger mask turned and waved to him playfully, Drew frowning in confusion. Suddenly Drew </span>
  <span>felt a heavy weight on his consciousness. His eyes grew weary and he fought with all his strength to stay awake. </span>
  <span>Two more figures emerged from behind him but he couldn’t make them out because of his dreariness. The last thing he saw was the figure in the cloak handing the girl a mask, a strange portal being opened up behind them and most of the figures walking toward it. Then everything went dark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma - Part 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A car cut through the crisp morning air on its way to Beverly Park. The driver, a man, took a hit on his cigarette and blew smoke out his nose as he flicked his turn signal on and slowed to a stop. Turning left, it only took a moment to reach the entrance and turn in there as well, passing by a camera crew taping something beside the police officers standing sentry who stopped him to check his authorization before waving him through. The man pulled into an open parking space on the far left side of the lot and got out of his car, revealing his police attire, immediately being greeted by the sight of caution tape, the hustling of several people, and the red and blue flashing of police lights. After putting his cap on, the officer made his way toward the pavilion where the station had set up a small base of operations. On the outskirts of the pavilion stood a woman also in a police uniform and staring at some documents in one hand while sipping coffee with the other. He approached her but she didn’t turn to greet him, instead continuing her activities.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Williams,” she said plainly, but with a firm undertone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn't exactly call it good, Pérez,” the man replied, shaking the weariness from his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez motioned for him to follow her and the two began to trek toward the forest. Meanwhile she smirked and brought her cup to her lips, taking a sip after responding. “Complaining already?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I transfer in just last week and now this happens? I didn’t sign up for this...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know what you mean. It’s been two days and we’re still finding weird stuff…”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, as if the shit we already found wasn’t weird enough…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two came upon the trail leading into the forest and another long strand of yellow caution tape came into view. They continued their conversation as they ducked the tape and resumed walking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s review the case from the start with the testimonies from the kids and the new evidence,” Pérez said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both officers walked into a recognizable, small clearing, a small set of people taking inspection of the ground while a range of forensic tools littered across the area. As the cops conversed they walked between points of interest and examined them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what else there is to get from all this,” Officer WIlliams said. “An anonymous call about six, unconscious boys in a forest from some woman who didn’t stick around isn’t much to go on. At least she gave us good directions to find them…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but that’s where the trouble starts. One would think that with all the weapons, spent ammunition, and blood on the ground that they were in some kind of fight...but not a single one had any injuries, despite the tears in their clothes and the blood on the ground being theirs…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m still wondering how none of the local residents heard any gunshots that night with how many bullets lodged in trees and spent casings we’ve found...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fair point. And, as far as we know, the boys were the only ones at the park since their cars were the only ones in the lot. At least the part of the story where they came here to hang out checks out: they were nice enough to let us search them and they don’t seem all that suspicious...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, except the rest of their story,” Officer Williams said as he and his partner made their way to the next location.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually the two reached the next location: another clearing with the same activity from the forensics team, but this time with a large, circularish dent in the Earth in the middle of it. Pérez turned to another page in the documents in her hand and began reviewing the data.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So the kids claim they saw a meteor cause the impact and went to see it,” Williams mused. “And after entering the forest, they don’t remember anything. Really convenient for them, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Besides the memory loss, it sort of works as an explanation. We’ve found tree limbs unnaturally broken off in lines straight down a few trees here and there do appear to be signs of an impact.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, except, just like before, no one we’ve talked to saw a meteor that night. And all of the trees with those signs were unnaturally cut down as well. Plus there are fresh bullet holes in some of the trees nearby with no bullets in them and no casings to be found either. None of it adds up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Squatting down next to the indent in the ground, Officer Williams stared intently at the dirt while Officer Pérez flipped to another page in her notes then put the pages to her side and looked at the indent in the ground as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yet there are weirder things to consider,” Pérez continued. “While I’m no expert on meteors, I highly doubt one would leave an impact pattern like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So perhaps the better questions are: who or what actually made this and—more importantly—where did it go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who knows?” Williams said, shrugging while getting up and patting his pants. “But it freaks me out just thinking about how it might have something to do with how the kids got how they were. ...If that’s the case, I’m kind of glad that's where our trail runs cold.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe not anymore. We have the findings at the new site to consider now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams sighed as the two moved toward the next destination. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, let me guess: fired bullets without casings? The rotting carcass of a whale?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, better: someone’s sneakwear and fired bullets with casings but the </span>
  <em>
    <span>bullets</span>
  </em>
  <span> are deformed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You must be kidding me…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the two officers arrived on the scene they found the familiar sight of the forensics team moving about and inspecting the area. One of the workers saw the two officers and walked up to them, handing the female cop a bag with, sure enough, a bullet with a flattened head in it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You weren’t kidding… And the clothing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez lended Williams her notes and he read them aloud while she took another swig of coffee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A facemask, body armor, combat sweats, gloves… What is this? A special ops uniform?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They even had a few tools on them that could be used for espionage. No personal items though. Seems like whoever was wearing this was taking great lengths to hide their identity.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if they were trying so hard to hide their identity, why did they end up going commando?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Beats me,” Pérez shrugged, “but perhaps we can add a half-naked man to the growing list of things we should be asking people if they saw that night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This case just keeps getting weirder and weirder by the sec—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s over here,” a muffled voice yelled, starting the two officers and causing them to turn around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Staring back at them were a crew of nearly a dozen people in hazmat suits loaded with gear for detecting radioactivity. Pérez quickly stepped in front of the group and showed them her badge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is an official crime scene investigation, I cannot allow you to—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can it, lady. This is a matter of national security,” one of the people in suits said, shoving past her. “By order of the FBI, we’re taking over here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you can’t just do that,” Williams said, starting to raise his voice in anger as the rest of the hazmat crew moved past them to flush out the forensic scientists.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Officer Williams, stand down,” a stern voice rang from the direction that the hazmat crew came. The two police turned around again and there stood another police officer, this one a bit chubby with a packet of paperwork in his hand. The forensic workers also gathered around to hear what the incoming officer had to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chief Ramsey! What the hell is going on here?!” Williams insisted, stretching an arm out to point at the hazmat crew who have begun their work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s as they said: whether you like it or not, the FBI is getting involved in this investigation,” Ramsey said, handing Pérez the packet in his hand which she snatched and immediately began reviewing. “Everyone here is to evacuate immediately. I’m here to make sure that happens.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But Chief,” Williams said apprehensively, “what about the case?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you worry about the case. I’m sorting that out on my end. But for now, we need to get out of here.” The chief officer addressed the entire crowd now: “That’s an order.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, the group of forensic scientists begrudgingly left together leaving on the Chief, Officer Williams, and Officer Pérez.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a little irritated, but it’s all there in ink, so I have no right to complain,” Pérez said, closing the packet and handing it back to the Chief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know I can always rely on you to understand, Cecelia,” the chief policeman said with a smile. “A stickler for the rules to a fault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t say that, Chief,” she replied with a slight smirk. “Someone has to hold down the fort on investigative ethics.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right on the money there,” the police chief said happily with a finger point and a wink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s all fine and good, Chief,” Officer Williams said, “but what are </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> supposed to do now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing in that document says we have to halt investigation entirely,” the chief of police said, turning his back to the lower ranking officers and beginning to walk away with a wave. “I just came to get all of my men out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> place, if you catch my drift...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two officers watched the police chief walk out of sight. After a quick glance at each other, then back at the people in the hazmat suits, they also decided to leave in the same direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The FBI, huh?” Officer Williams said right before sighing. “There goes any chance of this being a giant prank.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chin up, newbie,” Officer Pérez said. “We’ve still got a job to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you suppose we do now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we go pay the last of the kids a visit in the hospital—see if he’s awake yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t know what good that’ll do. Those kids are pretty tight-lipped.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I have an idea that’s worth a shot. Care to play along?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Williams sighed once more. “I guess I have no other choice.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ben bolted upward with a startled look, gasping for air. He looked around, in panic, attempting to comprehend his new and unfamiliar surroundings. The room was blurry, but he could make out that he was in some kind of bed with pristine white sheets. There was a faint beeping sound coming from somewhere nearby and the strong smell of latex and disinfectant unpleasantly greeted his nose. Realizing he wasn’t wearing his glasses, he looked to the dresser nearby and saw something resembling their shape. He groped at the figure with a shaky hand, snatching it up and immediately putting it on, the room finally coming into view. By now he’d calmed down a bit and his breathing had steadied. Looking around he could see now he was in a small hospital room. The “bed” he was in was really a stretcher that sat under a posable light; an IV and vitals monitor stood next to his stretcher (explaining the beeping), both of which connected to his body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben checked his body over and found he’d been reclothed while sleeping, but noticed that he felt no pain. Staring off into the distance, images appeared in Ben’s mind as he pondered his predicament: the explosion, being captured, the blood curdling howl of the Commander, pain from being torn into, then...nothing. His right hand shook a bit in fear as those last thoughts crossed his conscious. Suddenly something brown and hairy stirred in the corner of his left eye. Ben almost jolted out of the bed, but realized it was just Jory, fast asleep and drooling on the blanket, his arms resting close to Ben’s lap. Ben sighed in relief, putting his hand to his chest to feel the beating of his heart begin to slow. Upon further inspection, Ben noticed something in one of Jory’s hands: a small piece of folded paper slipped between Jory’s pointer finger and thumb. It had something written on it too. With an inquisitive look, Ben gingerly picked the paper out of Jory’s hand, so as not to disturb him. He turned it over twice, and then stared at the text:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“To: Ben</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Your eyes only.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben squinted suspiciously, realizing that the handwriting was too neat to be Jory’s. Wasting no more time, he unfolded it. It read:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You will be questioned about what happened at the hill by investigators before you are released. Here’s what you say: you saw a meteor hit the ground, all six of us went to check it out, remember nothing after entering the forest. If they ask for other details, </span>
  </em>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>don’t make anything up.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If anyone else asks, tell the same story. </span>
  </em>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>No exceptions.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span> We’ll talk later on Skype. 9/5 @ 3 pm                                                                         </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>~ Byron ♥”   </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ben kept his eyes on the note and read it to himself a second time to let the message sink in. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the room causing Ben to almost launch out of the bed, fumbling with the paper hand over hand several times only to throw it under his covers as soon as a doctor in full attire entered the room. The two met eyes for a moment and Ben tried to cover up the awkwardness of having only one arm under the covers with a wry smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Finally awake, I see,” the doctor said, starting to move through his usual procedures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah…” Ben replied, not sure what else to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor wore a pair of glasses and had gray hair with a beard and stache to go along with it. He had a warm smile as he finished putting some things down and walked to the side of Ben’s bed, opposite of where Jory was sleeping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My name is Dr. Grayson. It’s nice to meet you, Benjamin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just Ben is fine,” Ben said, waving his hand and finally taking his other hand out from under the covers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, ‘Just Ben’,” the doctor said jokingly, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions to ask.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do I ever!” Ben exclaimed before rattling off a list of concerns: “How did I get here? Am I okay? And what about the others? Do you know what happened to them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor put up a finger to stop him. “Why don’t you ask the one who saw them all off?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s body began to shift a bit as he woke up, pushing himself up off of the bed and standing up, shaking his head to get the drowsiness out of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon hearing Ben, Jory turned his head and looked straight into Ben’s face, gasping at the sight. He then leaned on the bed and grabbed Ben by the shoulders, shaking him once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, you’re awake! Thank GOD! You took forever to get up! I thought you were done for!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Nice to see you too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doctor!” Jory said, whipping around to address the third party. “He’s going to be okay, right?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Jory,” the doctor said, his hands signalling for Jory to calm down. “I told you that he stabilized a long time ago, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory nodded apprehensively. Just then he remembered something and his eyes began to dart around looking for something. He started to pat himself down and looked around at his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, what did I do with—! Aw, fuck! Byron is going to k—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory,” Ben cut him off with a stern voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory stopped and looked at Ben. Ben was pale as a ghost and turned his head slightly, but winking with the eye the doctor couldn’t see. Jory tilted his own head but then realized the situation the two were in from the doctor’s puzzled face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s right! I already—I must be off or something today. Maybe I’m tired from just waking up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben smiled awkwardly as if to say, “don’t draw attention to it!” Jory got off the bed and stretched, walking around it to the doctor, extending his hand for a handshake. The doctor took it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you so much for helping me and my friends, Dr. Grayson. I owe you so much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think nothing of it. This </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a hospital, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh, yeah, I guess that’s true. But thank you anyway. You’ve had me checked already so...I’ll just leave you with Ben.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory quickly turned around and walked out of the hospital room with his hands in his pockets. Dr. Grayson smiled before turning to Ben.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s quite the handful, isn’t he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben smiled awkwardly again. “Yeah, no kidding.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Although, I have to say you’re lucky you have such a loyal and caring friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even after being dispatched, he refused to leave until ‘all his friends were all fixed up’. True to his word, he made sure to see all of them before they left. And that now includes you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He really stayed all this time just to make sure we were all okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Grayson nodded. Ben couldn’t help but let a thankful smile creep across his face. Meanwhile, the doctor got up and fetched his clipboard, proceeding to look through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I suppose being ‘okay’ isn’t exactly the word I would use to describe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s heart sunk. His lip trembled as he squeaked out a response. “There’s...something wrong with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, actually the opposite: I can’t find </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrong with you...but that’s the problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor held his clipboard closer to Ben’s field of vision, pictures of completely normal x-rays with descriptions that the doctor gave as his verbal synopsis.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a very interesting case, Ben. When you were brought in for care you had torn clothing with your own blood all over them, enough that any wound to cause it would’ve been life-threatening. But for some reason we couldn’t find any external nor internal injuries.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No injuries?” Ben said, his face contorting in confusion. “Then...why am I in a hospital?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was hoping you could tell me. When we found you, you and your friends were all completely unconscious. You didn’t respond to light and your reflexes weren’t working either. No matter what we did we couldn’t wake any of you up until you each did of your own accord. And we couldn’t find any drugs in your systems either so why you were all like that is currently unexplainable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s...surprising... Wait...so how long was I out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Grayson held down his clipboard and frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, Ben, have been completely unconscious for about a day and a half. But that’s because, like Joshua and Charles, when the three of you were administered you were experiencing something called a REM sleep cycle or ‘rapid eye movement’ and having fits of convulsions. In fact, the three of you were in that state for well over half a day. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben nodded slowly to confirm the doctor’s sentiments.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, you kids should count yourselves very, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>lucky. Sometimes when people go under like that they never come out. And prolonged episodes of seizures are usually a sign that something is seriously wrong, yet, as far as I can tell, all three of you have a clean bill of health.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben gulped nervously and put his face to his hands, holding them together in prayer and uttering a soft “thank you”. Just then, another knock at the door, this time a bit more forceful, took both Ben and Dr. Grayson by surprise. As the door opened, a number of figures entered the room, a conversation from before their arrival full in effect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you, the doctor is looking after him right now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please move aside, nurse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two people walked into the room, pushing past the nurse who was trying to stop them in vain. One was a man and the other was a woman, both in standard police uniforms. The woman was about a head shorter than the man she was with, who by contract was quite tall and had a bigger build as well. The nurse ran past them and up to the doctor, the doctor moving and standing between the two intruders and Ben. Ben gulped in nervousness and quickly slipped his hands under the covers to grab the note, just in case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I apologize, Dr. Grayson,” the nurse said. “I tried to keep them out and not disturb you but—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault,” the doctor said, waving his hand. “Please excuse us for a moment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded and turned on her heel, walking past the man and the woman and shut the door behind her with a sour look on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello again, Dr. Grayson,” the female officer said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Officer Pérez. I’m in the middle of a check-up. Can this wait?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m afraid it can’t,” the male cop said. “As a matter of public safety, we need to ask him some questions. Alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Grayson thinned his eyes and put the clipboard he was holding face-down onto the bed before speaking up again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve done this five times already. I understand that you want information, but you come barging into this hospital, shoving past my nurse every time, and then expect me to leave you two with my patient who’s still recovering?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Grayson, please listen to us,” Pérez said. “As much as I don’t like it either, the case we’re investigating is...extraordinary to say the least, as you should know... So if you could make an exception for</span>
  <em>
    <span> just</span>
  </em>
  <span> this case we would really appreciate it. And if things go as I think they’ll go, this shouldn’t take more than five minutes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Grayson stood defiantly against the cops. The stand off continued for a moment until Ben finally intervened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um...Doctor? It’s alright. I’ll answer their questions.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dr. Grayson turned to Ben and gave him a confused look. “...Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben nodded. Dr. Grayson sighed and took his clipboard under one of his arms and shot the cops a look before he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. The police took no time and moved to Ben’s bedside, the woman pulling up a chair to sit in while the man simply stood and pulled out a notebook and a pen, the latter of which he clicked to write.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ben, I’m Officer Pérez and this is Officer Williams,” the female cop said pointing to each respectively. “We just need to ask you a few, simple questions. That alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Ben said as confidently as he could manage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What were you doing on the evening of last Friday, the second of September?” Officer Williams asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um…I was with my group of friends and we went to Beverly Park.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember what happened at the park?” the other cop asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh,” Ben said as he rubbed his temples with his fingers, “if I recall we saw....something fall out of the sky. We thought it was a meteor so we went to investigate. We entered the forest… Then…” Ben winced as convincingly as possible and gave a faked confused look and sighed. “Sorry...I...can’t really remember anything after that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two cops looked at each other with faces that said, “this again”. The man scribbled down what Ben reported as the woman spoke up again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? Nothing? Nothing at all?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope, nothing. Your guess as to how I got here is about as good as mine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about a man that could turn into a giant, wolf monster?” the male cop asked gruffly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hairs stood up on Ben’s neck. He checked the face of the cop who asked the question: stone cold. In an instant the male cop wrote down some more notes on his notepad. Ben laughed nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I mean, for all I know...it could be... ...I don’t even remember...passing out...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cops stare at Ben who began sheepishly curling up into a ball behind his bed covers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww, look,” Officer Pérez said with sympathy while looking at the other cop, “now you’re scaring him.” She sighed and shook her head. “And what a crazy idea... There’s no way that would be it.” Looking at Ben once more, she winked at him. “Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Right,” Ben replied after a second, relaxing a bit in his bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez began fishing for something in her pocket. “Alright, well, we won’t bother you anymore. You need your rest. I’m sorry for taking your time, Ben.” She pulled out a card and offered it to Ben. “If you remember anything in the future, or are ever in need of help, please don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, absolutely,” Ben said with glowing appreciation as he took the card.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, good,” the female cop said, getting up from her seat, the other cop standing back to give her space. The two cops made their way to the door, Officer Williams leaving first while Officer Pérez stopped right before exiting and waved goodbye to Ben who waved politely back. They shut the door and immediately the two investigators walked to find the exit of the hospital.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was a pretty good call going for the good cop, bad cop routine. ...You’re a lot more callous than I thought you’d be,” Officer Williams said, chuckling to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just tired of being given the runaround,” Officer Pérez said nonchalantly. “They’re definitely hiding something and I want to know what.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams puts his arms behind his head. “Yeah, that Ben kid wears his heart on his sleeve; reactions like those are solid tells. I just wish the rest of them were that easy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re an...odd group, for sure. But they don’t seem like the kinds of kids who would go out of their way to make trouble. I just don’t get what’s so important that they have to hide it from us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what I don’t get? How Ben reacted to the wolf monster line. Of all the things that would make him squeamish, why </span>
  <em>
    <span>that? </span>
  </em>
  <span>It’s almost like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> what they’re trying to hide.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be ridiculous—werewolves are completely fictional. And there’s still a chance that the scene was fabricated since paramedics arrived on the scene before we did. For all we know, this could be some incredibly elaborate cover-up with the kids caught in the crossfire.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the type to believe in conspiracy theories, then. Huh, I didn’t peg you that way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only if it’s the last viable interpretation of the data. In any case, there’s an explanation for this that </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> delve into the supernatural. I’m sure of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, I hope so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two cops exited the building and made their way to their car. Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, Ben had taken the note back out from beneath the covers and stared at it in his palm.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>Click click.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fans of a computer whirled to life as the mouse icon moved away from the now highlighted Desktop icon for Skype. The familiar box layout of the program appeared a moment later and within seconds a notification (with the obligatory notification sound) popped up in the sidebar. The mouse moved over to the account and clicked it too, bringing up the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ready? We’re set on our end.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few keystrokes later and the user of the computer typed a message back: “Ready!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately the Skype call function activated and the usual call jingle blared from the speakers. The user accepted the call and a crappy, choppy image of Byron, Jory, and Josh sitting on a couch came into view.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, hello?” the image of Byron said as it skipped out of sync with his words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh...Byron?” Ben said, revealing himself as the user of the computer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon the video corrected itself and Byron’s image moved with his words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, there we go. Sorry, that was laggy. Anyway, you in a spot where no one will hear you? We’re all good here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh,” Ben said as he looked around anxiously. He grabbed his headphones off of his bed and plugged them into his laptop. After putting them on, Ben gave a thumbs-up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. So I heard you got the note in time, Ben. How’d it go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good?” Ben said with a tinge of hesitation. “I did what you said...buuut I get the feeling they didn’t trust me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d be surprised if they did,” Byron said. “They are the police, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, about that,” Ben said. “I’m not exactly comfortable with lying to the police...nor my family for that matter... Are you sure this is a good idea? It’s not too late to change course...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep, and that’s what we’re going to talk about as soon as Drew and Charlie join the call.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Speaking of the devil, on both Byron and Ben’s computer screens Drew had just signed into Skype. Byron input the appropriate actions using Skype’s controls and added Drew into the video call. Drew’s voice could be heard but the video was still loading.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s up, assholes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The video on Drew’s end finally loaded in and gave a clear visual of Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, Drew?” Jory began. “Where’s Charlie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost as if one cue, Charlie’s voice cut in in slurred-speak. “Byyyyyyrooooooon, I’m on your compuuuuuteeeeeeeeer~!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie’s face overtook the top of the screen as he leaned in from above to make the screen look weird. Charlie continued saying random, garbled sentences while making faces into the camera. The others giggled at Charlie’s antics, barring Jory who laughed aloud and slapped his hand a few times against the couch to show how much it was cracking him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Charlie, I know how much you love to make out with my webcam,” Drew said casually, “but try to keep it in your pants for right now, ‘kay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Kaaaay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie moved back away from the camera and sat down in a chair next to Drew’s couch, ogling the computer screen longingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Byron said after signing and getting into a better thinking position, “first order of business: we’ve got everyone here and accounted for. Second order: Drew, you someplace where no one else can hear you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As far as I know, yeah,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Then let’s begin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron took a moment to collect himself then continued talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t actually had the time to talk about all of the things that happened three nights ago. How is everyone holding up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great,” Drew said while stretching and putting his arms behind his head. “You know, besides the whole getting injured and being abandoned thing. Never got to truly thank you guys for that. It was a wonderful experience. Best moment of my life, actually.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I wanted to stay with you,” Jory said with pride.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, you left anyway. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re still terrible. Not as bad as the guy calling the shots, but still terrible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s totally fair and I take full responsibility for that call,” Byron said, putting his hands up as if to brace himself against something. “Still, I was right about the girl keeping you safe, wasn’t I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, totally right about that. Still don’t think you understand what it’s like to be left for dead—which ALMOST happened. Kind of a dick move. That’s all I’m sayin’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Drew,” Ben said incredulously, “what about when you and Charlie decided to leave the park right after Jory bolted? I made the same argument about helping </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignored me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHOA, WAIT A MINUTE!” Jory almost screamed. “YOU WHAT!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well that explains why they hadn’t been captured earlier…” Josh mused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, this is—! Shit, Byron, we could’ve called them from the get go!” Jory continued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not given that we don’t know when we entered the loop,” Byron said. “Also, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> call that got them captured later even though I </span>
  <em>
    <span>explicitly</span>
  </em>
  <span> told you not to </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“THAT WAS YOU!?” Ben also almost yelled. “JORY, WE ALMOST </span>
  <em>
    <span>DIED</span>
  </em>
  <span> BECAUSE OF THAT!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we saved your asses later, didn’t we?!” Jory said enthusiastically. “I’d say that </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than makes up for it!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, thanks to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Josh said with an angry undertone. “If I didn’t risk </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> life to help make the plan, we never would’ve gotten them out. So thanks for that too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you volunteered!” Jory protested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“I wouldn’t </span><em><span>have had</span></em> <em><span>to</span></em><span> if you didn’t make the call!”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>wouldn’t’ve been stuck at gunpoint with Drew and Charlie!” Ben said. “Do you know what it’s like to have these two </span>
  <em>
    <span>clowns</span>
  </em>
  <span> egging on the people </span>
  <em>
    <span>holding you hostage!?</span>
  </em>
  <span> IT’S NOT FUN!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Drew started, “I like blaming Jory for things as much as the next guy, but I’m not done being mad at you all for following Byron after he said, and I quote, ‘Let’s go’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aww shucks, guys, I’ll be back,” Charlie said reluctantly as he got up from his chair. “Gotta make some popcorn to go with watching all of our friendships burn before my very eyes.” At that, he left Drew’s screen, house right. (Although not before adding “I knew this day would come,” a happy sniffle as his voice trailed off from leaving the range of Drew’s computer mic.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron sighed and ran his hand down his face. “As much as I hate to say it, Charlie’s right. We’re getting nowhere like this. Perhaps we should change focus. Does anyone have any questions they would like answered that DON’T have to do with who’s to blame for whatever?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A silence graced the group, if only for a moment as Ben fielded the first question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I have one… So about those people we ran into in the forest…what exactly do we know about them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“An excellent question, Ben,” Byron said. “The answer is: almost nothing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great! Almost nothing. Perfect,” Jory exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, almost. We know that the girl and the group who captured her are on different sides of a secret struggle. I also got information from her that the group with that Commander wolf-man-guy are up to something huge with superpowers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What, like world domination?” Drew asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dunno,” Byron confessed. “But I do know that it won’t be long until they make their big move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uck...is anyone else getting some serious Illuminati vibes from all of this?” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Could be,” Byron said. “But regardless, we can be sure that the girl threatened their plans and that’s why they were after her. I really wish we knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, we do,” Josh said. “When I was scouting to see where the others were, I overheard them talking about how she stole something from them. Their mission was to retrieve her and that item.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHAT?! Josh!?” Byron blared. “Why didn’t you tell me this in the FOREST!? I could’ve used that in our rescue plans! It would’ve made things SO much easier!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t ask,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>ask</span>
  </em>
  <span> about information I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>aware of</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Josh,” Byron said bitterly, grabbing his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah-ha! Yet another friendship sacrificed to the red-haired lady! This is better than Reality TV,” Charlie said, sitting down next to Drew actually with a bag of popcorn which he had already opened and started eating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, I guess,” Byron conceded. “I’ll think about that later. Any other questions?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve got one,” Drew said. “What the hell happened with you guys, the girl, and that steroided army furry? Cuz, you know, I was kinda left out of that shindig.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory almost winced at the mention of the last character. Josh shook his head as he replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Long story short: the wolf guy caught up and obliterated us. It wasn’t even close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, this brings up a bigger question,” Ben said. “I heard from my doctor that none of us had any injuries when we were admitted to the hospital. How exactly did we even </span>
  <em>
    <span>survive </span>
  </em>
  <span>that? And why aren’t we in casts right now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excellent questions all around. This brings us to the main point of this meeting,” Byron said with some pezzaz. “Now, I know a lot has happened and that this isn’t...exactly the best time to drop a life-changing bombshell… But I took some liberties with something that happened before we were all hospitalized which, truth be told...prooobably gave us all superpowers…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group exploded in disbelief. Jory’s breathing gained weight as he looked at his hands while the others spitballed verbal responses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Best day ever. Better start training,” Drew said as he stretched in his seat and stood up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, Drew,” Ben said quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have a fun montaaaage!” Charlie sang happily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Josh asked forcefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, after everyone was taken out by Commander Wolfman, the girl offered me superpowers if I’d make one wish of hers come true. Since she said the organization would be attempting something, I figured that’s what the wish is about and so I took her offer. But I told her that I’d only take it if she’d give you all powers too...and she agreed. So, yeah. You should have powers now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You‘re being serious…? We’ve really got superpowers?” Jory asked hopefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As far as I’m concerned, you should. I don’t think she’s a liar because she also said that she’d save us either choice I made and it appears that she made well on that promise, what with us not having any injuries and all. Likewise, I can confirm that she was dead serious with the offer because, after I agreed to it, I actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>used</span>
  </em>
  <span> a superpower.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NO WAY!” Jory exhaled. “How did it feel—no, no, no, what WAS it?! Was it magic?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t exactly know what it is, but I have a hunch and I’ll keep you posted. I do, however, know that I can control people’s actions with it. That’s how I got Commander wolf-man to leave: I used my power on him and ordered him away. Actually, if I recall, Drew saw me right after I used it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DREW SAW IT!?” Jory yelled, almost salivating at the mouth. “DREW, IS THAT TRUE?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the other boys looked toward Drew’s screen share window but he was nowhere to be found. Only Charlie, still munching on popcorn, sat in the middle of the screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh, Charlie, where’s Drew?” Josh asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he left while you were giving that really boring explanation. He told me to tell you, ‘I’m already training, so shush it.’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, a door being opened was heard from Drew’s webcam. Drew came back into view of the video feed and sat down next to Charlie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, so I just did, like, twenty push-ups and then I realized that I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea what the hell I’m doing. SO...talk nerdy to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Drew,” Ben said. “First, is it true that you saw Byron use a superpower?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, was that what the glowy-eye thing was?” Drew replied. “Not gonna lie: kinda freaked me out when I saw it because all I saw was Byron just standing there like that with all your bloody bodies laying around him. I caught up after getting my ankle healed by some chill masked guys. Guess I just got there after everything wrapped up with sergeant fuzzy bum.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s eyes bugged out a bit as he sat back on the couch and swooned in ecstacy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my God... We could be terrifying monstrosities of mankind… We could shoot lightning out of our eyes or bones from our fingertips or shoot palm blasts and—! And—! AND—! OH MY GOD! THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, well that’s cool and all, but I think you’re ignoring the elephant in the room, Jory,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What elephant? We’re going to be superpowered GODS! We’re gonna grab evil by the neck and crush it’s brains out! What’s not to love!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re still ignoring the elephant,” Byron said with disappointment. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh, great. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rules. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Those were </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> my favorite part of my childhood...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>rules</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Rules help to avoid problems. And there’s at least one rule that we ALL should follow since if we don’t want to risk jeopardizing our lives or even the lives of others.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let no one know,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, exactly. We don’t tell anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>about what’s going on unless they can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely</span>
  </em>
  <span> trusted. You don’t tell your friends, your relatives—not even the police. We have no idea how ordinary people will take this information, or where potential members of that organization may be lurking, and it would be wise not to play our luck with either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh,” Ben began, “so that’s what the note was all about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. The last thing we want is the police on our tails. So I had to ad lib to get everyone’s story to sync up without it looking orchestrated. I think it went well. For now, they honestly think we've all had considerable memory loss.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or that we're bat-shit crazy,” Josh said indignantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s right!” Jory said excitedly. “Ben, we didn’t tell you yet. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to hear what Charlie did. It's fucking hilarious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do I really want to know?” Ben said nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ye-ah~!” Charlie chimed in.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>In a stretcher at the hospital in a room much like the one Ben awoke to earlier, Charlie lay sleeping while a nurse took care of some business nearby. Slowly Charlie’s eyes opened, wide as if in a trance, and he sat up straight in the bed in a stiff and robotic way. The nurse noticed the movement and turned to greet him, but Charlie stared at the space in front of him like someone possessed by a ghost. Then, he began to speak in an authoritative and commanding voice, ending his pronouncement in a full-force yell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am the ghost of Abraham Washington, and I have come...TO EMANCIPATE THE CHERRY TREES!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Charlie began to throw fits, spazzing about in the sheets. The nurse scrambled to hold him down, calling in others as they dogpiled him to keep him down as he began to yell insults in olden English. Eventually enough got ahold of him to deliver a sedative and Charlie slowly drifted back into sleep.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“And then, when I woke up again, I proceeded to tell the police people the ENTIRETY of what happened that night. And they didn’t believe a single word of it! Thus the greatest prank in the history of EVER was achieved. The end,” Charlie concluded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie. Why?” Ben said, his voice loaded with despair and a hint of disgust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...no kidding,” Byron said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This might pose a problem later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who cares!” Jory says with gusto. “Can’t we just be happy that we have SUPERPOWERS!? I’ve been wanting something like this to happen to me ever since I was a kid! This is something I’ve dreamed about for years!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> what you’re thinking and the answer is: no. No superhero stints,” Byron said flatly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>AW, WHAT?! </em>
  </b>
  <span>Come the fuck on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m with Jory,” Drew said. “That’s pretty lame.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So I assume you want to be captured by the government and dissected like a lab rat?” Byron said, his head tilted and eyebrows raised.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh please,” Jory said in a huff, “you really think they could get their hands on </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? The FBI have dealt with a lot but they’ve never handled a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> superpowered person before! I’d blow them all away, hands down!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you wouldn’t. And you will not. The death of an officer at your hands is a crime. Even IF you have superpowers on your side and you come off as a hero to the public, the government won’t see it that way and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to get on their hit-list.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, bullshit,” Jory protested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, listen to me,” Byron said as sincerely as he could manage. “I know that right now you want to live out all of your wildest dreams inspired by anime, but it’s important to remember that our situation </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> an anime. Even if we got superpowers FROM anime, we’d still be in real life and real life thinking, perceptions, and judgments still apply. No exceptions.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Yeeeah...I hate to say it, but that’s a good point,” Drew finally concedes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory again tried to protest. “But—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, shut up,” Josh said bitterly. “You’re gonna get to kick ass somewhere down the road so stop complaining and just deal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fucking—!” Jory gripped his fists tight and then let go, then slinked into his seat and proceeded to pout. “Fine, whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I know it’s hard for you not to jump at that chance, Jory, so thank you for understanding,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory grumbled explicit English under his breath. After a moment, Ben picked the conversation up once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...So then I guess the next question is: what now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For now,” Byron began, "we figure out our powers and try not to get caught.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, we’re training? Like actually?” Drew said, his eyes lighting up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, of course!” Byron said. “There’s no way we wouldn’t take advantage of one of our greatest assets.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about the group that Wolfman is with?” Ben said. “What if they decide to attack us while we’re preparing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should have a little bit of time,” Byron said. “If it’s true that Commander Wolfman’s organization is against killing people, as he said, then they also seem to want to keep out of the public eye, like us. The lack of available opportunities to attack us is something to consider. Also, from what we know of this organization, they’re very systematic. That means we can capitalize on their inevitable processing time too. For now, those two things will have to act as our buffer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But...don’t they have superpowers?” Josh asked incredulously. “What if they can just </span>
  <em>
    <span>make</span>
  </em>
  <span> opportunities? Wouldn’t that mean we only have their processing time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right—and we have no clue how long that’ll take which is why we should act </span>
  <em>
    <span>as if</span>
  </em>
  <span> we’re on the clock. Every abnormality you observe in yourself should be reported to me without exception. I’m going to do some research into superpowers to speed along the identification process.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I guess that’s the plan,” Drew said, stretching and leaning back on his couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and on that note, I think it’s about time we wrapped this up,” Byron said, also stretching. “I want to say one last thing before we go about our business... Frankly, I don’t know who this girl is or the kinds of people who might be after us now, but dealing with them was no longer our choice as soon as that girl decided to call on us that night. I truly believed when I accepted her deal, as I still believe now, that if all of you had superpowers then you would be safer overall. I’m sorry for doing that if you disagree. Regardless of that, though, I made a contract and I’m going to keep my word so I need to know whether or not you’re in it with me for the long-haul. I want you all to think over your plans going forward. My only input is that if the people in this mystery organization decide that you’re a liability—superpowers or not—you </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to be ready to flee or fight for your life. Hopefully, I gave you a tool for the latter option. But if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> choose that, remember that unlike in fiction there are no breaks, no take backs, and no do-overs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It means war</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Understood?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben swallowed a bit nervously from what Byron said. Drew nodded but Charlie was overall unphased with a usual happy-go-lucky smile plastered on his face. Josh crossed his arms and frowned and Jory just laid back a bit more on the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll just let that sink in… With that, I’ll see some of you in school tomorrow. Any last comments?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m hungry,” Charlie said while crunching up his now empty popcorn bag. “Byron, can we get Taco Bell?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie, we’re on Skype. Are you coming to get me?”</span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“No...?”</span><span><br/><br/></span></p><p>
  <span>“Then no Taco Bell. Meeting adjourned.”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span> “Awww…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew reached over to his laptop and left the call, Ben doing the same. Byron followed suit, sat back and sighed, putting his hands to his face and leaning back onto the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you actually just </span>
  <em>
    <span>apologize</span>
  </em>
  <span> for giving us superpowers?” Jory said in complete disgust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, I want you to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>think about this,” Byron said, taking his hands away from his face. “I know what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but are you truly prepared to do this? Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> ready to fight a war?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh, this is a rhetorical question, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Only took you half a second that time. Keep it up,” Josh snided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, what was that? I can’t hear you over the fact that I have FUCKING SUPERPOWERS."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Eh, let him be, Josh,” Byron said while brushing the air in front of him with his hand. “Knowing Jory, come tomorrow, school will suck the zeal right out of him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"PLEASE,” Jory said putting his hands behind his head and relaxing. “I might hate school, but I’ve done it before, and now I’ve got fucking superpowers. There’s nothing school could throw at me to make me feel like shit."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued...</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma - Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma - Part 2</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jory stared blankly in front of him from the confines of his 2nd hour classroom. He looked up at the digital clock, seeing there was about ten minutes before class was over. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ten minutes too fuckin’ long</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought as he rested his head lazily against his hand. Soon his eyes began to close, either out of boredom or exhaustion (or both), and his mind started to wander...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory found himself in the forest once again, at a loss for breath―his gaze darting about frantically. At his feet laid all his friends, motionless and pooling in their own blood. His limbs felt like they were tied down by chains and his voice imprisoned in his throat. </span>
  <span>The triumphant howl of a wolf resounded through the clearing, Jory's eyes locking on to the lupine figure as it stepped out from the darkness. The beast’s eyes gleamed in delight as it lurched ever closer, chuckling all the while. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re pathetic, Jory.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took another step forward as Jory's vitals spiraled out of control.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You couldn’t stop me. You couldn’t save your little friends. You can’t even save yourself.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Jory felt the weight of the rifle he had in the forest in his hands once again. He trained the weapon at the Commander, attempting to gun him down, but the trigger jammed at every press. </span>
  <span>The wolf cackled with glee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come on, we both know that didn’t work the last time. You got lucky last time because your friend saved you. Now it’s just </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>you </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>me.</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory roared in defiance and rushed his foe with the firearm, only to get it backhanded out of his grip. A second after a paw from the wolf man ripped through his chest, tossing him backward onto the ground. Jory held his wound, blood soaking his hands. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why?! Why is this happening?! Why can’t I fucking do ANYTHING?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>We both know the reason. It’s because you’re all talk. When the chips are down, you just stand there. Helpless. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t have to wallow on it </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>any longer</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory rose to his feet, his face contorting in rage, his body feeling like he would burst from raw emotion. </span>
  <em>
    <span>NO! I WON’T LET YOU DO IT AGAIN!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I’LL DESTROY YOU! I’LL BURN EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF YOU APART UNTIL YOU DIE IN A SEARING FUCKING AGONY!!!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A force pulsed through him. An anomaly, something he had never experienced before. ...And then the need to scream. He reared back his head, putting every ounce of his existence into the act, and yelled as loudly as he could, a stream of flame exploding from his lips, engulfing his assailant. The creature howled in agony as it was blown away by Jory’s attack. Now adorned in an inferno, Jory began to close the gap between himself and the Commander.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Say your fucking prayers you FUCKING BITCH!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory raised a fire encased fist, ready to strike the wolf down...but before he could follow through, the “bell” rang, sucking Jory back into reality and signalling the end of his last class before lunch. Jory looked at his hands―back to normal, with no sign of superpowers. He sighed in exasperation while laying down on the desk in front of him and burying his face in his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Update: school fucking sucks dick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory sluggishly got up from his seat, gathering his belongings to exit the classroom. He followed the flood of students in the hall toward the commons area and eventually made it into the cafeteria where he picked out his lunch: a tray consisting of french fries, a chicken sandwich, a small carton of milk and the rest of the space given priority to ketchup. After a bit of looking around, Jory spotted Josh at a circular table in the cafeteria proper and sat down a few seats away from him. Josh took a quick glance at Jory’s ketchup pile as Jory bit into his sandwich.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Would you like some food with that ketchup?” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m good, thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So? How were classes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory put his food down and slumped back in his chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“You know, every time summer happens I forget how much I hate this place. Then every time I come back here I remember exactly WHY I fucking hate this place: it’s </span><em><span>so</span></em> <em><span>fucking BORING!</span></em><span>”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what you’re saying...is that you were wrong yesterday?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I—I meant like, when I—fucking...whatever, shut up. I have superpowers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Speaking of which,” a familiar voice rang, preceding a loud</span> <em><span>thump</span></em><span> heard from Jory’s left and Josh’s right. The two looked in their respective directions to see Byron sitting down behind a sizable stack of papers with a lunch on top. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Byron?” Jory said cautiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Byron said, glancing sideways at Jory through the dark circles around his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck is that?” Josh chimed in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A night’s worth of research. I printed off a bunch of pages from a superpower wiki I found to help identify our powers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory got up to better inspect the pile as Byron picked up the calzone from his tray to take a bite.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how exactly did you get all of that in one night?” Josh said skeptically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Didn't take my meds and had two bottles of tea. No time for sleep. We need to be ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Jory had lifted a few of the papers up to read their contents aloud, each name being said with increasing incredulity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Copy Manipulation. Quantum Weaponry… Organic Teleportation? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Love Embodiment?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” After saying that, Jory looked over at Byron as if to say, “You can’t be serious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything's possible,” Byron said without looking back and taking another bite of his meal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh smiled. “It’s funny cuz I can totally see Jory as a magical girl.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. “Ew! God―FUCK no! Don’t even joke about that! There’s no way my powers could be so lame!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, did you forget that we’re in public?” Josh scolded. “Don’t be so loud with that kind of thing. We don’t know who’s listening.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahh, it’s so loud in this damn place, who’s gonna really give a shit?” Jory said, going back to his seat to eat his lunch but immediately scooching toward the pile to continue reading through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not normal people,” Byron said lecturely. “But the people from the park might want that information. Although, if they could have literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> superpower then there’s nothing we can do to stop them from getting it anyway. For now, if we keep to normal volume in louder areas we should be fine. But don’t talk about it in hallways or classrooms and keep an eye out for any...suspicious looks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it,” Jory said, still preoccupied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Josh said with a shrug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So that’s what I’ve been up to,” Byron concluded. “How about you guys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I have some news,” Josh said. “Apparently, my parents are leaving for vacation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron tilted his head quizzically. “Wait, they’re leaving at the beginning of the year?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That seems…” Jory said as he paused going through the stack and then continued with his sentence, “not responsible at all. That doesn’t surprise me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You get used to it after a while. Doesn’t really surprise me either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Byron said, suddenly excited. “Does that mean we can use your place to meet up and test our powers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather we not…?” Josh said, a hint of hesitation in his voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But where else are we supposed to―”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa! What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Jory said catching the two others off guard. They turned to see him holding a much darker printout than the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right! I almost forgot!” Byron said, ushering Jory to hand him the page. After obtaining it, he showed it to the others. “Remember how I said I had a theory on what my powers were? Well, I finally got around to that and this is it: a </span>
  <em>
    <span>geass</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It fits all of the criteria for what happened with me: ordering someone to do something against their will, the trippy dream sequence, and even right down to the mysterious girl offering me a contract.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that convenient,” Josh said with bemusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not the half of it: I even </span>
  <em>
    <span>watched</span>
  </em>
  <span> the series it’s from not too long ago―an anime called Code Geass. It was AMAZING―one of the best I’ve seen to date. I also </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> the way the power works. I just wish it was a little more...versatile.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Wait,” Jory said, the idea now clicking in his mind, “you’re telling me that you think you got a power ripped straight from an </span>
  <em>
    <span>anime</span>
  </em>
  <span> you </span>
  <em>
    <span>watched?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That’s like, a billion choices! I could be Aizen or Sanji or, or―oh my God, I could be a fuckin’ SUPER SAIYAN like GOKU!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yooo! Did someone just say ‘Goku’?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three boys turned abruptly to the person standing behind them. He was a moderately tall african american boy wearing a striped, orange and white polo shirt with deep blue jeans and basic, dark sneakers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Sup, homies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hey Brandon,” Byron said casually with a friendly smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Sup,” Josh said, going back to his meal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My man! It’s been a while! What’s up?” Jory said, getting up and offering a handshake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothin’ much,” Brandon replied while giving Jory a bro hug transitioning from the handshake. “New school year. Kinda lame. But it’s cool, it’s cool. I see you guys are just as nerdy as ever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kinda hard not to be with Jory around,” Josh said looking away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Jory exclaimed in offense. Brandon and Byron chuckled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So how have you been?” Byron said. “And what brings you over to us today?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been great!” Brandon said with macho gusto. “Kinda bummed out though since I couldn’t find the usual gang. You know how it is: didn’t wanna be lonely so I thought I’d drop in and make ya day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, shit. That sucks, dude,” Jory said. “You’re welcome to chill out with us if you want.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t mind if I do,” Brandon said, moving to take a seat across the table. “Anyone else in A Lunch from your crew?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know Charlie has A Lunch,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but good luck getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>to sit still for an hour,” Byron said, rolling his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fo sho, fo sho,” Brandon said, finally settling in. “So I heard you guys talkin’ ‘bout anime earlier. Seemed pretty excited. Did some new Dragon Ball thing happen that I don’t know about? And what’s with the stack of papers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three boys froze, each individually wracking their minds on how to respond.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you see,” Jory started, but he was immediately interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Brandon! We’ve been looking for you!” a voice called from the doorway nearby. The four boys turned to see some acquaintances, Brandon’s usual friends. They waved hello and the boys at the table all waved back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, shit,” Brandon said as he pushed his chair from the table. “Guess I wasn’t lookin’ hard enough.” He then stood, stretching out a bit. “It’s been fun, guys. A little premature though. Mind if I swing by again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Jory replied emphatically as Brandon started to slip away. “You’re always welcome!” They waved their goodbyes and then turned back to their lunches.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was…” Jory said awkwardly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was random,” Josh said, almost as a question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps a little too random,” Byron replied more suspiciously, putting his hand to his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory looked at his tablemates with disgust. “What the fuck are you on about? There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with some friends from back in the day!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Allegedly,” Josh replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh is right, Jory,” Byron explained. “The organization that attacked us in the forest has an unknown size and scope. They could be anywhere and might be </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Hell, literally anyone in this school could be with them. Students, faculty...even some of our old friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group stared out at the crowd of students in the cafeteria, seemingly going about their daily lives, but now with a newfound distrust in their eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory deadpanned. “Shit.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez stared upward at the looming building as a number of other people bustled around her. She looked back down at the glass front doors, the reflective surface contrasting the words “</span>
  <span>Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building”. Not wanting to dally anymore, </span>
  <span>she made her way into the building. Once inside, she quickly spotted the front desk, its receptionist, along with a tall, black man with greying hair in a suit with sunglasses and a briefcase in his left hand. He stood silently, his body squared toward the front entrance, almost as if to dare her to come closer. As she made her way over to him, he remained almost motionless, right up until she was within a couple arm’s length and about to stop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Officer Pérez,” he said sternly, but cordially, “thank you for coming.” Before she could respond he turned around and began to walk away. “Follow me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez hesitated a moment, but soon followed along in stride (but not before giving a passing nod to the receptionist). She picked up the pace to meet the man who greeted her and continued to shadow him well into the building. As they carried on, less and less people appeared before them until they came to an isolated hallway with only a handful of doors. The man strode up to one, opened it, and ushered her inside. The room was basically empty, barring a table with some papers on it, two chairs sitting opposite one another and enough lighting to see clearly. Soon after entering behind her, the man made his way to the other side of the table, Pérez taking the seat across from him. Once the two of them were settled, the man broke the silence. He took off his sunglasses, revealing crystal blue eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s not waste any time. My name is Special Agent William Smith. I’m in charge of the Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating the events at Beverly Park.” He paused for a moment to watch for a reaction, but continued after none was given. “Since you already submitted the other necessary paperwork, I take it you’re eager to join.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then reached for the papers in the middle of the table and slid them toward Pérez. She inspected the papers; at the top in big, bold letters read: “Non-Disclosure Agreement”. She looked back at the Agent Smith who was now offering her a pen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m also sure you have a lot of questions. If you want answers, all you have to do is sign.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez reached for the pen and grabbed the other end, but Agent Smith didn’t let go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just know that if you do, you’ll be working for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> until this case is over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, Agent Smith let go of the pen and Officer Pérez moved it into position to sign. After a short pause, she signed the papers and pushed them back toward Agent Smith.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Happy to have you on board. Let’s begin the briefing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right now?” Pérez puzzled. “Without even processing it? Isn’t that a breach of protocol?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ordinarily it would be,” Agent Smith said, taking the briefcase from his side and laying it on the table in front of him. “But due to the…” he pops the briefcase hatches open, “...complexity of this case, all Officers assigned to my unit have been issued interim clearance.” Smith continued to open the briefcase and added the newly signed documents to it. He then took out some of its contents: manila folders labelled with dates and names of unfamiliar events.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What you’re about to see may shock you,” he continued as he laid the folders out in front of Pérez. “This is one of the Government’s best held secrets. Are you sure you’re ready?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s my case. I’m going to see it through to the end.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith opened the files. Pictures of mangled or obliterated buildings in seemingly unrelated urban areas, articles on strange, single-instance weather patterns, and pictures of land that looked like it was freshly carved out with a giant spoon littered the contents. While Officer Pérez was scanning the information, Smith pulled out one more folder, this one blood red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Before you are but a few instances of a swath of scientifically unexplainable phenomena dating back past the only officially documented instance in 1951.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tossed the folder in front of the Officer’s gaze. She opened it. Within were several articles on biological research with detailed pictures of human cells. Upon flipping the page, the picture of a woman with a name below it caught her eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Henrietta Lacks? I’ve heard that name before,” Pérez mused. “Isn’t she the original donor of...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hela Cells? Yes. Or, at least, that’s what the Government would have you think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think that we could randomly steal a pair of seemingly immortal human cells from a cancer patient? Those cells aren’t hers. She’s just the poor sap who had it pinned on her. They had to come from </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>on the books, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Flipping again through the pages, Pérez found a medical document of an unnamed woman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The real donor is long gone,” Agent Smith continued, tapping the medical document with his finger. “Who knows where she is now. But if her cells tell us anything, she’s probably alive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez stared at the documents one more time before closing the folder and looking straight at Agent Smith.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll admit that all of this is very strange. But where is the crime?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right here,” Smith said, pulling out yet another set of folders, these ones lime green. He quickly moved the other folders out of the way, opening the new ones before the Officer. In all of them were pictures of individuals in an assortment of clothes ranging from normal to eccentric with names in code number form, either stamped “Missing” or “Confirmed: Deceased”. “All of these people are part of a growing list associated with similar strange events to those I just showed you,” Smith continued. “The only problem is that every single time we bring one in for questioning, without fail, it ends with them escaping against all odds or they’re found dead within our custody. Murder, suicide―it’s hard to tell. But it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> when we can’t see it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez continued to skim the documents as Agent Smith rambled on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you ask me, I suspect foul play―too convenient to be a string of coincidences. But that just brings up even more questions. Who is doing this? I can’t imagine all of this being the handy work of a single person. So if it’s more than one then how many are involved? What keeps them together? And what’s so important to them that they’d be willing to go to such lengths for it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez glanced up from the documents to show her attention despite still trying to soak in all the information before her. “You suspect organized crime? Are there any other plausible explanations?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unless everything we think we know about reality is wrong, I don’t think so,” Agent Smith said, resting his face on his hand. After a short silence, Smith resumed. “Do you believe in the supernatural, Officer Pérez?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez, taken aback, looked up at Agent Smith. His expression was grave and he was staring at her intently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are many things we don’t understand about the world…” the Officer began, “but I tend to think that they just haven’t been explained naturally yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. We agree.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith pointed to the pictures of missing or deceased people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And yet, if we’re to believe that this was caused by ordinary human hands, then we’d be dealing with a force of nature unlike any organized crime we’ve ever faced. Not only are they skilled enough to take things from right under our noses, but they’re also so elusive that the only thing we can say about them for sure is that they’re trying to hide something. ...That, and the fact that they seem to know </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> a lot better than we know </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith’s face twisted into a bitter and worried expression. Officer Pérez closed her eyes to think and then opened them again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I understand the gist of the situation now. What I still don’t get is why it’s being investigated as potential terrorism...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not just terrorism―seditious conspiracy too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think they’re trying to overthrow the Government?” Officer Pérez said, shaking her head in bewilderment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The degree to which they interfere with investigations isn’t typical of organized crime. What they’re hiding is bigger than any sum of dirty money. That’s the biggest thing we can think of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see… I have just one more question: how does all of this fit in with the Beverly Park case?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith began to pack up some of the case files on the table in front of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The case in question fits the description of an unexplainable incident. However, there’s one notable exception: the six boys found at the crime scene. Either they’re witnesses or they’re part of the organization we’re after. In either case, we can’t let this chance slip by. So...now I have a question for </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Agent Smith stared at Officer Pérez resolutely. “What do you think the chances are that they’re part of the organization?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez thought for a moment. “I can say with confidence that they seem more organized than a regular group of high schoolers. And I have my suspicions that they’re hiding something from us too. But given that they’ve seemingly returned to their normal lives, making no attempt to hide, I find it hard to think of them as involved in any conspiracy. It’s just too careless.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you think they’re witnesses, then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s enough for me,” Agent Smith said as he stood, starting to pile the folders so that he could put them back in his briefcase. “Thank you for your input, Officer Pérez. And I apologize for your late inclusion. I didn’t want to get in the way of the preliminary stages of the investigation. Telling you all of this information from the start might’ve changed your approach and I wanted an uninitiated party’s profiling before we rounded them up for questioning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait…” Pérez said in a somewhat panicked voice, “we’re arresting them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s right,” the Agent replied, tumbling the folders to line them up neatly for storage. “If those kids </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> witnesses, then we have six chances to figure out how to get them to spill the beans and give us the biggest lead on this case we’ve ever had.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On what grounds are you making the arrest!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You said it yourself: obstruction of justice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My hunch doesn’t count as probable cause! That’s illegal!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith slammed his hands on the table and shouted at the Officer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have been working this case for thirty six years! This is the best chance we’ve had in over a decade! We are NOT going to lose to these punks anymore! I want answers!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Agent leaned in and put a finger up to point at Pérez’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You work for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> now. What I say goes. And since you signed that non-disclosure agreement, telling anyone outside the FBI about this talk we had would </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> be illegal. And I have the finest agents and local officers in the state backing up my decision.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez shrunk in her chair. Agent Smith moved to continue packing up, his stature changed to mark his triumph.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How can you be sure they’ll be safe?” Pérez said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Agent Smith said, stopping his work to confront the Officer again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said, ‘how can you be sure that they’ll be safe’? Didn’t you say that everyone the FBI has arrested either went missing or died in custody? If we bring those six boys in, the organization will have six mouths they’ll want to keep shut. What if they try to kill them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve accounted for all of our failures. We have what amounts to a small army watching every angle. It would take a miracle to avoid being caught in the act.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Officer stood and slammed her hands on the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>IN</span>
  </em>
  <span> THE ACT!? You mean to tell me that six </span>
  <em>
    <span>boys </span>
  </em>
  <span>could turn up </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span> in YOUR CUSTODY </span>
  <em>
    <span>and you don’t care</span>
  </em>
  <span>!? If word gets out, imagine the PR nightmare! Moreover, these aren’t some run-of-the-mill high school kids―they’re united and intelligent! You won’t get them to turn on each other! Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they knew their rights and collectively refused to speak without representation! If we deny that to a group of </span>
  <em>
    <span>minors</span>
  </em>
  <span> after arresting them without probable cause, the DOJ would have a field day! You’d be out of a job! We </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> might be!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith hesitated for a moment. He looked the Officer straight in the eyes, not a sign of her backing down. Seeing that Smith still wasn’t swayed, Pérez tried one last appeal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If not for the kids, if not for the people under your command, then do it for the case. If you lose your job, who’s going to bring this organization to justice!? We need </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to see this through!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smith leaned on the table with both hands, still visibly irritated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then what do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>suppose we do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If this organization is as serious as suggested, then it’s only a matter of time until they go after the kids anyway. The question is whether or not they’d try to kill them or have them go missing. Taking someone in for questioning has us doing what every other investigation did before, and they all failed. But if we let them stay in public then we’ve already made a new scenario. It also makes killing the kids in cold blood that much harder. If they want to bury their tracks completely, then they’ll have to kidnap them first. We can catch them then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That would limit their immediate danger, but you’re still using the kids as live bait.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Their lives are in danger either way. But if we monitor them under the pretense that we’re aiming to </span>
  <em>
    <span>protect</span>
  </em>
  <span> them, at the very least we can’t be made out to be the bad guys here. And, who knows, maybe we could use these boys our advantage; they’re the chaos element here and passing that off to our enemies could turn some great results. What if the group we’re investigating underestimates them? Or what if the boys </span>
  <em>
    <span>decide</span>
  </em>
  <span> to expose them to us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Makes our job a lot easier. I see where you’re going with this...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith contemplated the idea for another second and then nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s give this a shot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Agent packed up what was left of the files on the table and began his way out of the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll walk you back to the front. We’ll talk more details another time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez also started to leave. But as she reached the Agent, he extended an arm. Seeing the handshake, Pérez took it. It was firm and surprisingly warm. Agent Smith turned around and returned his sunglasses to his face, smilingly as he did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like the way you think, Officer Pérez. Welcome to the JTTF.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s my honor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, the two made their way out of the room.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The electronic “bell” echoed through the school halls. Shortly after, a cacophony of students destroyed the relative silence of the sound, preparing to leave with joy. In the lobby area outside the main office, Jory stood with his arms crossed and his backpack slung over his shoulder. A few minutes had already passed and so he impatiently pulled out his phone to text someone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, he’s always fucking late…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Am not! You just never notice when I get here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory turned abruptly and saw Ben to his immediate left, moving back a bit in surprise. Ben gave a cool gesture to greet him, like a Bond Villain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprised?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kind of. How the hell do you keep doing that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe I’m secretly a ninja or something. Anywhooo~, you ready?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep. Let’s get out of this shithole.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben held the door to the outside for Jory and both of them made their way down the sidewalk. Jory was about to start up a conversation but stopped just short when someone called from behind them. The two turned and saw Drew waltzing up to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice bros. Ditch me a second time, why don’t you? I see how it is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Hey, Drew!” Ben said, making room for him on the pavement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa, what are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doin’ here?” Jory said in disarray. “Don’t you have football?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Usually, yeah,” Drew said, as the three began to walk out toward the sidewalk by the street. “But after my little trip to the hospital, mom’s been worried sick and wanted me to stay out of the heat. I talked to coach about it too, and he thought it’d be best if I went home for the time being. You know―for </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> sake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That makes sense,” Ben said sympathetically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling, by the way?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, even with school starting, I’ve been pretty happy ever since…” Drew glanced in both directions before continuing, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>the news</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if you catch my drift. I dunno. It’s kinda like my dick grew a few inches or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben held back his laughter making a “</span>
  <em>
    <span>pffffftttt”</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well...that’s...yeah...okay,” Jory stumbled to say as he processed Drew’s analogy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You only can’t relate because you’ve never had that kind of growth before,” Drew said pointing at Jory’s crotch with a smirk and a wink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, whatever,” Jory muttered semi-angrily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon, the three of them came to a crosswalk. When the light signalled them, they made their way across the street and came to another corner where they awaited the next light.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any updates on the others…?” Ben said innocently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know Byron went to go and study superpowers,” Jory said. “He’s been obsessed about that since day one. Josh is probably getting worked to death by his parents since they’re going on vacation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, gotcha. What about Charlie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He said something about starting a personal project and hasn’t really talked to me since,” Drew said. “With him, who knows what that’ll be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other two casually agreed as the light changed and they walked across another crosswalk. They then hopped onto the main sidewalk and started their way to the subdivision they all shared. Jory took a quick look around to make sure no one was listening before he began to talk again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I heard some crazy news from Byron today at lunch and holy fucking shit, I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>pumped</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Apparently he might have a superpower that’s literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>from </span>
  </em>
  <span>an anime. If that’s true, this is a game changer! Any of us could have anime superpowers!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, really?” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Jory said excitedly. “Ohhhh, I can’t wait to figure out what I have! I don’t even care what they are, I’m gonna be a total badass!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s assuming that any of the rest of us even </span>
  <em>
    <span>got </span>
  </em>
  <span>superpowers,” Ben added cynically. “After all, we don't know how honest that girl we met is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "Don't you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>start</span>
  </em>
  <span> with that kind of thinking," Jory said aggressively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why? Because it would be logical?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No. Because it would be the biggest buzzkill of all time."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure about that?” Ben said with a smirk. “Even if we </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>get superpowers, for all we know, we don’t have any control over what we get. Don’t you find that even a little bit worrying?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Jory and Drew looked at each other hesitantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Negative Nancy,” Drew said, turning to Ben to challenge him. “But aren’t most anime superpowers just a plus? How bad could it be even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>random?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Real bad. Like, ‘loss of humanity’ bad,” Ben said sheepishly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But wouldn’t we have noticed something like that now?” Drew said with an eyebrow raised. “How many days has it been since then? And do any of us feel any different?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I guess that’s true…” Ben allowed, thinking to himself. “Slowly turning into a monster </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> be pretty hard to ignore…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then we’re in the clear!” Jory exclaimed in bliss, throwing his hands in the air. “Now all we have to do is wait for them to kick in!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, that’s another question,” Ben pondered. “Do superpowers normally need to do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> so,” Drew said, racking his brain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then wouldn’t we already be able to use them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit, you’re right!” Jory exploded, his eyes lighting up. “Quick! What’s a common superpower!? Anything! Maybe we can actually just start testing to see what we can do!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, interesting proposal broski,” Drew said, looking off into the distance. “See those rocks over there?” Drew pointed to a sign that had a ring of rocks surrounding it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe if you punch one hard enough, you could break it. If you have super strength, you’ll be able to tell immediately.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s face distorted in confusion. “Drew I don’t think that’s a―”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good idea!” Jory screamed, running to the sign and grabbing a rock from the ring. He knelt down in front of it, cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms out. “Just sit back and watch the master. EAT THIS, ROCK!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory brought his fist down as hard as he could on the rock. Instantly he pulled it back and shouted a loud curse, shaking his hand and blowing on his knuckles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I tried to warn you,” Ben said, rolling his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew suppressed his laughter. Jory looked back at the others, seeing Drew’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck are YOU laughing at?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Drew said with a smirk. “Now we know you don’t have super strength.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would he?” Ben said sneeringly. “Superpowers don’t normally increase physical ability in-and-of-themselves. Isn’t that why they go through all the training you were so eager to start?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew looked at him as if to say, “That’s the joke.” Jory noticed this and began to fume.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did that on purpose!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whooaaaa broooo, playin’ the blame game. Uncool man. Unnnncoooool. You never had to punch it, I just said ‘maybe’. You brought that on yourself. Plus I wanted to see if you were gullible enough to fall for it. Consider me very, very pleased.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...You suck.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You just punched a rock.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just had a thought,” Ben said. “If we have bodies that are capable of extraordinary feats, then we should theoretically be able to heal a lot faster than an ordinary human, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a pause where Jory looked at his bruising knuckle and realized something, he got up and made a beeline towards his house as fast as his legs could carry him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa! Jory, where are you going?!” Ben called after him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No sense in waiting! I’m gonna be a badass NOW―even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>kills </span>
  </em>
  <span>me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory took a left down the next road and made his way towards his house. Ben and Drew stared blankly in Jory’s direction, then looked at each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Classic ‘get it done fast’ Jory,” Drew snorted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should we stop him?” Ben said worriedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, he’ll have to learn his lesson soon enough. Besides, Jory’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> stupid,” Drew replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True...” Ben said apprehensively. “Anyway, I should probably get home too. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing. Later, brosef.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben waved goodbye and upped his pace toward the turn after Jory’s. Drew continued his stroll, taking in the late summer weather and before he knew it, he was home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew entered a key into his front door, turned it, and entered his house. He drudged inside, just enough to find the coach and flopped down onto it after leaving his backpack on the floor. After staring uneventfully at the ceiling for a moment, he let out a heavy sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I guess it’s about time I start thinking about what I want to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He frowned a bit, taking a moment deep in thought before assuming an extremely concerned look. The scene from when he was given the ring played over in his head. Reaching into his pocket, Drew grabbed the ring and held it in front of his face in the air above his head, inspecting it. It was small and golden, a remarkably perfect fit for his ring finger. There was also an elaborate embroidery along the outside that looked a lot like letters, but not in any language he had ever seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that I think about it...how exactly did I understand him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew put his hand to his forehead as if his head was hurting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eugh, this is more of a job for everyone… But then...should I really tell them what he said?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catching Drew off guard, the doorbell rang, causing him to jump to his feet. With an inquisitive stare Drew walked to the door (while pocketing the ring once more) and looked through the peephole...but no one was there. Drew slowly reached for the knob, turning it carefully and opening the door ever so slightly before quickly slamming it shut. He took another look through the peephole. Still nothing. Ever more embolden, Drew opened the door cautiously and poked his head out looking left, right, up, then down. To his surprise, an ordinary envelope sat squarely on the welcome mat on his front porch. Drew reached down slowly and picked it up, realizing it was addressed to him...but there was no postage stamp. After bringing it inside, Drew inspected it further. It was light as if there was nothing in it. He shook it a bit and heard what sounded like a paper inside. Sensing no possible harm, he opened it and peeked in the top. The only contents rested neatly inside: a photograph. Drew plucked the photo out and examined it. The picture had no color and was also torn on one side as if it had been ripped in half. On second glance, Drew finally realized what the picture was of: the girl from the park.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well this just got weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew inspected the photo further, trying to look for anything suspicious. Seeing nothing, he futzed with it a bit to see if it would do anything magical. Again, nothing happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s...it’s just a picture. Why would you give me just a―!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew’s thoughts were interrupted when he flipped the picture over to check the backside revealing a short and neatly written message:</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“M/M</span> <span>B/B</span> <span>G/G</span></p><p><span>E/5</span> <span>P/P</span> <span>N/7</span></p><p><span>R/2</span> <span>U/3</span> <span>L/4</span></p><p><span>W/W</span> <span>A/A  </span> <span>O/3</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If you remember the color of my eyes, you can date me.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>                                                                                  A.A.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After reading that last line, Drew’s lips curled into a smile. He flipped the page around one more time and stared at the girl in the photograph once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh. Sweet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued...</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Your Guess Is As Good As Mine - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Your Guess Is As Good As Mine - Part 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“...And that should do it,” Josh said quietly, almost mumbling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned back in his chair and stared at the number of papers neatly stacked on the work desk in front of him. Each had a freshly minted signature (none of which were his own). He frowned at the deed, thinking about the ramifications, then sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now if only my parents actually cared that signed syllabi are due at the end of the first week…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh gathered up the pages, trying not to dwell on his resentment any longer, and put them in their respective binders before returning them to his backpack. He then </span>
  <span>rose from his seat and walked out of the nook, stopping at the cross section between the stairs and the downstairs living room, turning around three-hundred sixty degrees to inspect the empty house,</span>
  <span> as if to attempt to suck in his newfound (if only short-lived) freedom. Josh stood there for a moment, lost as to what to do. He looked over at the microwave on a nearby counter to check the time; too early to turn in for the night. He searched his feelings for a moment. Then he stood up straight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what? I’m going to take a bath.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Josh moved in the direction of the stairs. He made his way toward the upstairs bathroom, flicked the plug for the tub and turned on the water. It gushed from the faucet, the sound of rushing liquid echoing throughout the room. Josh went to get his change of clothes and soon found himself back in the bathroom after a few minutes with only a towel around his waist, the water having risen to an acceptable level. He stuck a leg into the tub to test the water. Sensing it wasn’t dangerous, Josh moved to get in, taking off his bath towel and settling into the tub.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bump bump.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh’s heartbeat spiked as he realized something wasn’t right. He tried to get out of the bath but couldn’t—his body wouldn’t move. Josh looked around at the bath in front of him, desperately seeking what was wrong as his vision started to fade. Soon his body slunk into a resting position in the tub, completely submerged in water, barring his head which rested on the curve of the side. His eyes slowly closed staring at the water before him and his consciousness faded to null. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ben perked up in his seat as the school bell rang for lunch. He briskly collected his belongings, faster than the students around him, and shuffled out the door into the hallway now flooding with his peers. Weaving between them, he made his way toward a less occupied longcut past the computer lab which took him to the front of the main office—right next to the commons area. As he reached the end of the hall, a familiar face turned the corner whose eyes locked on to Ben immediately: it was Byron, hands in his hoodie’s pockets with earbuds in. Ben smiled weakly as Byron stopped in his tracks and gave Ben a smirk of acknowledgement. Before Ben could move to skirt him, Byron pocketed his earbuds, signaling to Ben that he wanted to talk with a head bob toward the door to the outside. Ben reluctantly slowed to a stop and they both made their way to the door, Byron opening it and leading Ben just past the bushes that lined the sides of the school. They stared out at the circle drive as the door closed behind them and Byron glanced over at Ben.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well? How was class?” Byron said in a playful tenor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was...the usual, I guess,” Ben said, giving a sideways glance away from Byron.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron chuckled. “Yeah, sounds about right. Anyway, I have some big news for you that I thought you’d want to hear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Ben said with a raised eyebrow while resting his elbow on his one hand and offering an open palm to Byron with his other. “Do tell.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron looked back toward the door to see if anyone was watching. Once he determined the coast was clear, he leaned in toward Ben a bit and spoke almost in a whisper. “We might have a legitimate lead on one of our powers. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>this time</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s eyes widened from the news and he put his hand to his mouth as if in reflex to stop a gasp. “I...I don’t know what to make of that. That really </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> some big news.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhm. So listen: we’re planning on meeting up after school today at Josh’s place to test some stuff. Think you can make it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben cringed a bit from the suggestion and his eyes involuntarily wandered, trying to break contact with Byron’s firm gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh...I want to, but I’m not sure if I can... I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> have anything on my schedule, but I should really double check with my mom to make sure she doesn’t have anything I have to do, and—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Ben, I hear you,” Byron said, raising his voice to a normal level and putting his hands up to signal to hit the breaks, “and I get that it’s a school day and that we don’t normally do stuff like this...but this is kinda important, ya know? Think of it less like an invitation and more like a friend asking for help in a time of need. You do understand what we’re dealing with here, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, but…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I need your brain for this. Besides, you’re one of the few who’ll take this seriously. Sure I’ve got Josh, but you know how the other three are when they’re together: it’s goof central.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Ben didn’t reply but still had </span><span>uncertainty plastered clearly</span> <span>on his face, so Byron continued.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, if it makes you feel any better, it’ll only be for a couple hours or so. I already got the okay from Drew that he can use his car again so the second we’re done, he’ll take you and Jory back home. Your parents won’t even know you were gone. Sound good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about Josh’s parents? Won’t they be an issue?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope. Apparently, they’ve gone on vacation,” Byron said with a shrug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...At the beginning of the school year? Isn’t that really irresponsible?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that was exactly my reaction.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the two heard the door behind them open. They swung around to see two students, the first a tall and slender boy with blue eyes, pale skin, and a preppy haircut wearing a light yellow t-shirt with a plaid blue jacket and blue jeans. He held the door open to the second, a less tall African American boy with short, fuzzy black hair and hazel eyes behind square-framed glasses, sporting a dark blue t-shirt beneath a light green jacket and dark jeans that hugged his fit build.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo,” the tall, white boy said in a rich, deep voice while semi-saluting as the other boy waved. Ben sighed in relief with a hand to his chest as Byron beamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, well, well,” Byron said as the new boys walked out to greet him and Ben, “if it isn’t Ervin and Karl. How are you guys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know, just ABSOLUTELY HUNGRY AS ALL FUCK,” the black boy said with ironic glee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Karl,” the other new boy responded dryly, “but first we must gather our friends to feast together. Speaking of that, I thought you had A Lunch, Byron. Did your schedule get changed?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah,” Byron said, “I still have A Lunch. Actually, I was just on my way to class, but I bumped into Ben and wanted to ask him a question about something before I went.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But why outside?!” Karl said incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was just to get out of the hustle before lunch started. You know how loud and crowded it gets in there,” Byron said with an offertory hand gesture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is true,” Ervin allowed. “So did you guys do anything exciting since we saw you over the break?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben and Byron looked at each other to exchange an unspoken commitment to sworn secrecy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not at all,” Ben replied all too quickly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, me neither,” Byron echoed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, damn,” Karl said happily. “</span>
  <span>We just thought it'd be good to remind you that we live in post 9-11 America! It's not safe here! This was your PSA.</span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, the bell rang again and Byron looked toward the door with some urgency.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welp, that’s the five minute bell. I best be off to class,” he said, offering a handshake to the others. After shaking hands with Ervin and Karl, he also turned to Ben and offered one as well. Ben took it slowly and Byron smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be a stranger, alright? See you after school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Byron turned and walked off, power walking through the door and heading off away from the commons. Ervin, Karl and Ben all followed slowly through the door, but Ervin couldn’t help but shoot a worried glance at Ben.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that all about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing,” Ben replied and the three made their way into the commons.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Agent Smith took a sip out of his caramel macchiato, perfectly poised in the driver’s seat of his car as he stared out the front window at the school across the street. In the passenger’s seat, Officer Pérez futzed with some documents in her lap while staring out the passenger-side window at some nearby trees. Smith took a glance at the officer’s direction: she seemed like she was pouting. Smith took another sip of his drink before putting it down in the cup holder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you have something on your mind, Officer Pérez,” Agent Smith said looking back at the school, “spit it out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to know why I’m here with you,” she said with a tinge of resentment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To help with the investigation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you think I’d better serve in the field then? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>an officer of the law, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smith </span>
  <span>picked up his cup again and</span>
  <span> held the drink before his face as he spoke. “You’re also the one who designed our general strategy. I’d rather have someone like that </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking</span>
  </em>
  <span> than </span>
  <em>
    <span>acting</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He then took another sip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would, but it looks like you’ve done most of the thinking for me,” Officer Pérez snided as she turned her attention to the notes in her lap. “I have to hand it to you, though: their addresses, every class they’re in, their routes to and from home, times of departure and return—who knew all of this could be gathered in a single day. I’m impressed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do whatever it takes to solve this case,” the agent said with a stone cold expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough to follow it for thirty-six years. That’s a pretty long time. I take it it’s not a hobby then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather not talk about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Suit yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two sat in awkward silence for a moment. In the distance the school bells rang and Agent Smith shifted in his seat to a more ready position. He reached to a radio stuck to his air conditioning vents and held the button. After a beep, he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is Command. All units off standby. Resume monitoring procedures—same deal as yesterday. And report any changes. Over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With one more beep, Agent Smith let go of the button and the two investigators focused intently on the building before them.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Byron, Drew, and Josh had gathered near the pool hallway in preparation for their departure. A moment after, Jory and Ben emerged from the sea of students and convened with the group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s five,” Byron said as he turned toward the door, signalling to the others to follow suit. “Off we go then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Jory said, picking up the pace to join the others, “what about Charlie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeeeeah...he’s not coming,” Drew drawled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? What’s his excuse?” Ben said sourly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He said he has some kind of project he has to complete. I asked him what it was, but he said it was a surprise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes Charlie really concerns me,” Josh said pointedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but...why am I not surprised,” Ben said in bewilderment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Jory said bitterly as he moved ahead of the group and kicked the door open that led out to the parking lot, holding it while the others paraded out of the school and followed Drew to his car. “Fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally!</span>
  </em>
  <span> If I have to hear one more fucking thing about the pythagorean theorem I’m going to staple my ballsack to the ceiling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No you won’t,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And did we have to do this on a school day?” Jory whined, completely ignoring Josh. “Why couldn’t we wait until Friday?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And give up our precious prep time?” Byron said incredulously. “Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> our enemies to have the edge?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, if he wants to go home, he’s allowed to,” Drew said. “We’ll just be busy getting awesome without him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I’d miss that,” Jory exhaled. “I just like doing fun things when there isn’t an immediate responsibility on the horizon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You say that like this is some fun get-together,” Josh snided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...And t</span>
  <span>esting out dangerous powers</span>
  <span> just happens to be my idea of a good time. What’s your point?” Jory said, stone face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Save it for the car ride, you two,” Byron said, waving away any retorts that might follow as the group finally reached Drew’s car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew pulled out his keys and pressed the button to unlock his car, turning toward the four. “Alright, Byron gets shotgun, Josh and Jory on left and right, Ben gets bitch seat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, what?” Ben said, his face contorting slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That means you sit between us, Ben,” Jory said, opening the passenger side door to get in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got THAT,” Ben said defiantly. “I’m asking why it has to be me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Cause whenever we decide who has to sit there, someone starts to bitch about it,” Drew said as he opened the driver’s seat. “Also, you’re the only one skinny enough to fit. Get in, bitch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben sighed as he stood by the driver’s side door while the others, besides Josh, finished piling into the vehicle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben,” Josh said sternly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know,” Ben said as he opened his own door and the two got in as well. Drew fired up the engine and soon the car rolled out of its parking spot.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Meanwhile Agent Smith and Officer Pérez waited patiently in the car. Suddenly the radio beeped and the voice of a man came through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Command, this is Station C. Buses are leaving and the suspects have not boarded them. Over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The radio beeped again as Agent Smith leaned in to hit the button himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“All Stations, this is Command,” Agent Smith said calmly. “Report in on the suspect’s locations. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Station A, no sign of suspects. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Station B to Command, no sign of suspects. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Station D here. One suspect left the school drive on their usual route. We have someone tailing them. No sign of the other suspects. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith frowned as Officer Pérez sat up in her seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Throwing us a curveball already, huh,” Smith mused suspiciously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They could be hanging out after school. Staying in a public place is a pretty safe bet for them, all things considered,” Officer Pérez said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps a usual public place,” the Agent opined. “Public </span>
  <em>
    <span>institutions</span>
  </em>
  <span> may not be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think the organization would plant people in the school?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For all we know, they already have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately the radio beeped once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Command, this is Station D. The other five suspects have just been spotted in a single car turning westward out the school drive. We’re in pursuit. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps they’re thinking the same thing,” Pérez said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or they’re up to something,” Smith said, shifting out of park and beginning to drive. He hit the button on his radio one more time and put his turn signal on to turn onto the road.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Stations A and B, we’re in pursuit. Station C, put an extra set of eyes on the last one.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Roger that, over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Inside Drew’s car, the group settled in (albeit a little cramped) and were cruising toward Josh’s place as Byron struck up the conversation:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s catch everyone up on the way there—save us some time for testing. Does anyone have anything to report?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Josh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, do you have anything you want to tell us?” Ben said in mock confrontation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll focus on my stuff while we’re at my place,” Josh said with a small handwave. “How about you, Ben? Notice anything abnormal lately?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben hesitated for a moment. “Actually… I don’t know how to explain it...but I feel...funny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron raised an eyebrow in the rearview mirror. Jory, on the other hand, almost started pulling his hair out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Why is it that when the one thing </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> want most happens it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone else</span>
  </em>
  <span> who gets the benefits first!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hush, you,” Josh said casually.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, continue Ben,” Byron said. “Funny how?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s like...I feel some kind of...tingling all over. It isn’t much, but no matter what I do it just won’t go away. Also, it’s mainly right here."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben put his hands along the middle of his abdomen then looked back up at Byron, a slight concern in his eyes. Byron hummed at the thought and rubbed his chin. Conversely, Jory was looking Ben all over as if he had stumbled upon some foreign object.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does it...hurt or anything?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not really... But it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> uncomfortable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew snorted, trying to hold back his laughter. Ben, noticing this, sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, I’m sorry to tell you this…” Drew began with a shit-eating grin before Ben cut him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know,” Ben almost whined. “Maybe it’s just nerves or something. But I haven’t felt anything like this before what happened in the forest so I thought I’d say it anyway...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not much to go on, unfortunately, but we do appreciate the head’s up,” Byron said genuinely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about you, Byron?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you been able to turn your glowy-eye back on?” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron crossed his arms and shook his head. “Nope. Nothing. I tried a few mental and verbal commands while looking in the mirror at home and I even read a bunch of stuff on ocular superpowers to find tips for turning it on and nothing worked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Reading,” Drew said with offense. “Sounds like someone doesn’t know how training works.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did twenty push-ups,” Ben said disdainfully. “That doesn’t really count as training either...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s more push-ups than you’ve done since birth, bro. You should bottle up that comeback and call it weaksauce.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone in the car burst into an uproar with an “ohhh shit,” thrown in for good measure. Ben shrunk in his seat a bit, but managed to gather himself enough to mount a retort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? And what about </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>powers, Drew?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that? Yeah, I got nothin’. But I think I might just have something even better than that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With one hand still on the steering wheel and a cocky smile the size of a bridge, Drew reached into his right pocket and pulled out a photograph. He held it in the air between the driver’s and passenger’s seats so the others could see.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be jealous, scrubs. I’ve got a secret admirer and she’s </span>
  <b>h o t</b>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group in the back strained to see the photo, but once they realized what it was, each of them could only stare at it, gobsmacked. Byron also strained to see it and realized what it was shortly after the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy fuck,” Jory said excitedly. “Isn’t that the girl who—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give me that,” Byron said furiously, simultaneously plucking the picture out of Drew’s hand. He stared at it for a moment in awe then turned to Drew who was still basking in his epic reveal despite staying focused on the road. “Drew...how the HELL did you get this!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was delivered right to my doorstep in a letter without any postage,” Drew said. “But that’s not even the best part. Take a look at the back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron flipped the page over in a snap and read out a few of the numbers and letter combinations before switching to mumbling the rest of the contents before concluding aloud again, “If you remember the color of my eyes, you can date me… A.A....” Byron’s eyes lit up and he visibly started breathing slower as a smile swept across his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t start drooling on it,” Josh said unenthusiastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any idea what that means,” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not a clue,” Byron said, turning the picture over to look at the girl’s image again. “But I can say one thing: with all my wiki reading as of late, I can’t help but think that signature isn’t an accident.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’s that?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One of the characters from Code Geass has a name of two letters just like this and the way I got my powers was uncannily similar to how that character gave the protagonist their powers. In other words, if I had to bet, this is a hint to confirm my theory on what my powers are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, does that mean…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Jory. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> have an anime superpower.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YES,” Jory screamed to the discomfort of everyone in the vehicle...which he saw since they all winced. “Oh, sorry. But this is HUGE! Now we know what kinds of superpowers to look for!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not exactly,” Byron said. “Again, it’s still possible I’m the only one like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buzzkill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hasty generalization. Look it up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This brings up a very good question,” Ben said. (“This is the turn,” Josh said quietly to Drew. “Yeah, I know,” Drew said as he flicked on the turn signal and started slowing down.) “Why would someone who has superpowers from an established work of fiction exist in our universe?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That…” Byron said, pausing to look at the picture more questionably, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a very good question, Ben. I honestly don’t know how to answer that.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. “</span>
  </em>
  <span>Suspects have turned on to Franklin. Destination seems to be one of their houses. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith pressed the radio button. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Unit posted at destination, call in. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is the unit at the destination. Standing by at location. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Maybe she’s from that universe,” Josh said candidly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How?” Jory said. “It’s a work of fiction, right? What, did she jump out of the animation or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She wasn’t a named character in the show,” Byron said. “I’m certain of that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Multiverse theory: every universe that can exist, does exist,” Josh said confidently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Including any possible variation of that fictional universe,” Ben asked skeptically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Technically, yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if that’s the case,” Byron said, “how would we know she’s not from a totally unique universe that just happens to have superpowers that work like the ones from the show?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooo,” Ben cringed, “this is getting complicated quickly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooookay, you lost me,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, how about this guys,” Drew said, getting ready to take another turn. “Let’s stick to one crazy theory at a time, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Byron said, taking one last look before pocketing the picture as he spoke. “We’ll put a pin in this until we have Charlie around. I’ll also see what I can do about the message on my own time. For now, let’s focus on what we came here to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, joy,” Josh said with as little happiness as he could muster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You act like becoming superhuman isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jory said with disgust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>died</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Josh croaked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben shot Josh a devastated look. “You almost WHAT!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, relax,” Byron said. “We’ll explain when we get there.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A car stood by the side of the road between two houses. Inside the car a figure sat staring at the house before him; it was a two-story abode, partially hidden by a hill, a long driveway running up the left hand side. Soon another car passed by and turned into the driveway, the figure reaching out to a device and pressing a button.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Targets spotted at the destination. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew put the car in park and the rest of the crew filed out, stretching in the driveway while they waited for everyone to be ready. As they made their way toward the door, Josh glanced at the street and turned with a resolute face. He then maneuvered toward the center of the group. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t look, but there’s a car over there that shouldn’t be,” Josh whispered to the others without turning around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew and Jory both turned toward the road to see a car sitting off to the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron facepalmed. “What part of ‘don’t look’ did you two not understand?” he said bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory and Drew both looked at each other (“Whoops,” Drew said) and then back to the others as Jory spoke up. “Wait, how the hell were we supposed to know that you didn’t want us to actually look?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He did </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>say not to…” Ben mused, putting his fingers together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I take full responsibility for that one,” Drew said. “But look at it this way: now we’ve turned the tables—we’re watching them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but who watches the watchers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We do,” Byron sighed. “Well, no sense in hiding it now since the cat’s out of the bag.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew turned square toward the vehicle and took a few steps toward it. “Don’t worry, guys, I got this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group watched Drew as he looked dead on at the vehicle by the side of the road. He gave it a flirtatious look, flexed, and then blew a kiss toward the car and then held his left hand up in a ‘call me’ style. He then turned to go inside Josh’s house, walking with pride and waving to the others to follow as everyone else complied with a confused look on their faces.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew?” Jory said with slight disgust. “What the fuck?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I took responsibility,” Drew said as if this was plainly obvious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben stifled a laugh as Jory responded and Josh went to open the garage door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How would you even know the person in that car is into that?” he said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, if they weren’t before, they are now,” Drew replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew, you don’t even know who’s in there,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t matter. But I’m sure they’re into me now. And that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> illegal.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Command, this is the unit at location. We have a small issue. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez looked over at Agent Smith whose eyes narrowed from the news. While still driving, he hit the button on his radio to respond.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. What’s the problem? Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I don’t know how to tell you this...but it seems the suspects know I’m here. They looked straight at the car and even signalled to me. Do we have a procedure for this? Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez smiled and shook her head as Agent Smith could hardly hold back the surprise in his expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you, they’re a lot more than meets the eye,” Pérez said, almost gloating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll give this one to you, Pérez: your read on them is a bit better than mine. But I’m still not convinced that their actions to this point weren’t a fluke.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get me wrong: I still think they’re winging it. It’s just that their spur of the moment choices seem fairly thought out. Now that they know we’re watching, I doubt they’d try anything funny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s see how they handle this...”  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command, we’re en route to location. Once the suspects are inside, wait for my signal and then leave. We’ll replace your post. Over.“ </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Will do. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As the group entered Josh’s house, they began to take off their shoes by the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe you just did that,” Ben said to Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, neither can I. Who knew I was so unbelievably cool?” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, are we gonna get started or what?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. We go ahead as scheduled,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At this point, Josh started walking up the stairs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh, Josh… Where are you going?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To see how they react,” Josh replied without missing a step.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But wasn’t the reason we all came here to test </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> powers?” Drew said pointing at Josh who walked up the rest of the stairs and out of sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but is it really that good of an idea to test superpowers now that we know the police are watching?” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh got to the landing and as the others spoke, he crawled to his room, grabbing a compact digital camera, and then crawled back toward the stairs to the dining room which had a window overlooking the street.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Josh and I talked about this scenario already,” Byron said. “There isn’t really any way for them to observe us from any angle outside the property at his house so long as we’re in the right places. Also, unless they have probable cause, it’s illegal for them to enter without a warrant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about satellite?” Ben said, pointing up at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At this point, Josh positioned himself under the window, turned the camera on and raised the lens up above the window sill, watching the display to see what the car on the street would do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Local police don’t have access to satellite,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well if they don’t have satellite, I guess we’ve got nothin’ to worry about,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh continued to watch the car through his camera, until suddenly it began to move. Moving past his house it sped up and then came back around, riding off around the curve of the street and out of sight. Josh got up and quickly put the camera away back in his room (“I should build a periscope,” he said to himself), then moved briskly toward the stairs to return to the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Ben said, still apprehensive, while finding himself lounging in the basement living room with the others. “Don’t you think getting together like this makes us look a bit suspicious? They’re going to be on high alert.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think we’ve done anything out of the ordinary,” Byron said. “For all they know, we're just getting together to study. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> highschoolers, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> technically 'studying',” Josh said, finally joining the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, so about that,” Drew said, stretching on the couch, “are we gonna get on that, or what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Let’s get to it while we’re not being spied on,” Josh said, ushering the boys toward the doorwall to the backyard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They left, huh? Interesting,” Byron said stepping through the door with Drew following right behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See? It all worked out,” Drew bragged (as a new car pulled in front of the house).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what exactly are we testing for?” Ben asked, having already exited before the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, we haven’t told you what happened yet, have we?” Jory said excitedly. “So Josh tried to take a bath yesterday and after sitting down woke up an hour later in an empty tub. Apparently he can’t enter water anymore. And I was thinking there’s only one superpower we know of that would explain that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben tilted his head as if to say, “which one?” as realization hit Drew. “Ohhh, you think it’s One Piece, huh?” the latter said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben put his hand to his chin. “Oh, yeah, that would explain it, wouldn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a working theory,” Byron chimed in, folding his arms and giving Jory a side glance as he continued. “Jory’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> biased toward that result, as you can probably tell by now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I totally am...but, like, why </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> it be that way?” Jory said confidently. “We already know Byron’s are from an anime. And with this happening, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> be coincidence!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It</span>
  <em>
    <span> can</span>
  </em>
  <span> be a coincidence,” Josh said. “Which is why we’re here to test it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t happened to’ve eaten a fruit that tastes like shit recently, have you?” Drew said looking over at Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. And I think I would remember that,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And with that,” Drew said with a shrug, “I think I’ve fulfilled my idea quota for the day. Case closed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s got a point,” Byron said. “I don’t know of any other ways people get devil fruit powers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s great,” Jory said, his tone indicating he was completely unswayed, “but are there even any other options? </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> haven’t heard of anything else that makes someone weak to water...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Maybe he’s turning into a vampire?” Ben said sheepishly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A vampire?” Drew replied incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jory said. “Was the bathwater holy or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> some depictions of vampires that are weak to sitting water,” Byron mused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben smirked from his vindication and turned to Josh. “Had any cravings for blood recently?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Funny you ask,” Josh said cooly. “I seem to have just gotten one. So who’s blood am I going to drink, ‘cause I nominate </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ben</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Forget I asked,” Ben said, his smirk vanishing from his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Devil’s fruit, it is then,” Byron said. “...At least until we come up with something else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but which one?” Drew said awkwardly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are there a lot?” Josh said. “Not exactly a huge fan of the series.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Technically...it could be almost anything,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, come on!” Jory interjected. “It’s obvious what powers he would have! If Byron’s powers are exactly like the main character of Code Geass then Josh’s would be just like Luffy’s!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s he like again?” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Luffy has the power of the Gum Gum Fruit, which means his body has all the properties of rubber,” Byron said studiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew, Ben and Jory look at Josh for his reaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I refuse,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What!? C’mon,” Jory implored. “He’s proven more than enough in the series that it’s not a bad power!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It sounds stupid and I don’t like it,” Josh said, folding his arms and looking away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still,” Ben began, “it’s not like we have any other leads…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Might as well get it out of the way, then,” Byron said. “Any bright ideas on how to test it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We could try electrocuting him to see if he feels anything,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh gave a look at Jory seemingly as if to say, “I’ll actually kill you”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about we try something a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>less</span>
  </em>
  <span> life threatening,” Ben said, giving Jory a sign to take it down a notch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, oooh, wait! I know!” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are not dropping me from somewhere to see if I bounce,” Josh jeered cynically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, listen! I never watched too much of One Piece, only the fights—but I do remember that Luffy was able to blow into his thumb and make his arms or legs gigantic, right Byron?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True,” Byron said. “That might be a good way to start this off since it sticks to what we know the power can do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory shot Josh two finger guns. “Alright Josh, let’er rip!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh blew into his thumb and stuck up his middle finger to flip Jory off. Jory’s finger gun hands sunk down deeply and his mouth hung open in astonishment. Drew and Ben could only hold back their laughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Ok, for real this time, Josh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was for real,” Josh said. “Didn’t work. Next?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben,” Jory suddenly said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeeees?” Ben said with hesitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do me a solid and grab a leg.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“O-okay…?” Ben said moving toward Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wut?” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron ran his hand down his face. “Josh, please just go along with it. We do need to be thorough about this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory instructed Josh to grab hold of a nearby tree as he and Ben grabbed on to both of Josh’s legs and gave them a tug (to no avail). Jory kept giving Ben and Josh directions while Drew watched from the sideline. Byron, however, fished the picture he nabbed from Drew out of his pocket, taking a moment to stare at the contents on the back then flipping it to the front.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew soon realized Byron had zoned out and moved closer to him to comment. “Don’t get too attached, bro. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> address the letter this was in to me, after all,” he said with a coy smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Drew, I would think you wouldn’t want anything to do with her,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I have my priorities as a guy. Any prospects are good prospects—even if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bitch who basically left me to die.” Byron chuckled, to which Drew followed up: “It’s just too bad the pic’s not in color. Didn’t exactly get a good look since, you know, life was kinda at stake at the time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that? They were purple,” Byron said with a short pause in which his expression shown a realization. “...kinda like characters for Code Geass, now that I think about it… Huh. Interesting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Drew said mischievously. “Well, don’t be mad if I talk to her first.” (Byron shook his head, as if to say, “whatever, Drew.”) “So...you think she’ll really give me a chance?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron flipped the picture to the back to read the message once more. “...Is that really what that means?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys,” Ben said, “can you focus on this for a bit? We need some help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew and Byron turned back to the others. Ben had since let go and stood by the wayside as Jory continued to pull both of Josh’s legs at once, Josh still holding on to the tree for dear life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gamu gamu no do something!” Jory screamed, taking one long pull.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys! I’ve told you, I’m not Luffy,” Josh wailed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We just have to put our </span>
  <em>
    <span>backs </span>
  </em>
  <span>into it,” Jory grunted, pulling hard to emphasize.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Somehow, I don’t think this is working…” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SHUT UP, BEN!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Byron said. “If we go by the show it should be an involuntary thing, right? But maybe it works differently in our universe? This is way more difficult than I thought…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, enough of this!” Josh let go of the tree and the two were flung away from it into the grass. Jory got up slowly while Josh kneeled on the ground in pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh, the fuck!?” Jory said huffing and short of breath. “We have to stretch you out or you’re not gonna kick ass like the rest of us!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well maybe I’m NOT made of rubber! Maybe I don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> a devil’s fruit power!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but if it’s not that, what else would it be?” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Look, I don’t care if I have a devil’s fruit power,” Josh said, slowly raising to his feet. “But if I’m going to have a superpower, it’s not going to be something like that. I’m certain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How can you be so sure,” Ben asked. “Do we even get to choose what powers we get?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we don’t get to choose! But maybe I have something I could actually stomach! Maybe even something I could actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>like!</span>
  </em>
  <span> If I had a choice in what I’d trade for the ability to swim…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An image of a majestic, lizard-like creature flashed in Josh’s mind. “Maybe I’d be a </span>
  <b>
    <em>MOTHER FUCKING DRAGON!!!”</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh took a sudden gasp, his insides feeling as if they would explode from beneath his skin. He grabbed his body, changing color as it began to grow. The others looked on in horror as before their eyes their friend was replaced and soon all that could be heard was a loud draconic roar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued...</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Your Guess Is As Good As Mine - Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Your Guess Is As Good As Mine - Part 2</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The roar of a dragon echoed through the yard as Ben, Byron, Drew and Jory stared at the creature in disbelief, it staring back at them silent and defiant. The beast stretched the distance from the tree to well past where Josh was initially kneeling. Its azure scales and sharp features gave it a regal look in striking contrast to its drooping wings. Jory attempted to slowly crawl backwards away from the giant lizard before him. Immediately it turned its attention to him, causing him to freeze. After a moment, Byron finally broke the standoff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Josh…? Is that still you…?” he said, slightly leaning toward what he believed to be his friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon attempted to turn toward Byron, its motions haphazard, while opening its mouth and letting out a few jumbled noises before hissing angrily (seemingly to itself). Ben jumped behind Drew, squealing shortly in fright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that a yes or a no…?” Drew said hesitantly while Ben peaked out from behind him, pale as a ghost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh, blink once if you understand me,” Byron said slowly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking squarely at Byron, the dragon did as instructed...except instead its second eye-lids closed and opened again causing the audience to recoil, especially Jory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck, don’t ever do that again,” Jory cringed, turning over to try and get up. “That’s...disgusting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh looked at Jory again and tilted his head “blinking” yet again while grunting as if to say, “What?” Jory continued to roil from the sight while the rest of the boys collectively sighed a breath of relief. Ben moved out from behind Drew who casually put his hands behind his head and loosened his stance. Meanwhile, Byron walked closer to inspect their friend’s new form. Josh instinctively tried to backup, but almost tripped over his tail, stumbling a bit to regain control.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, Josh, take it easy,” he said, putting a hand out like a traffic conductor to signal a stop. “We don’t want you to injure yourself. Besides, I’m not gonna do anything weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron began to circle Josh, putting his hand to his chin as he gave him a once-over. Drew and Ben signaled to each other and quietly bickered about whether either of them should approach too. Jory also mustered the courage to step closer but Josh glared at him as if to say, “Look, don’t touch,” and Jory put his arms up to signal he got the memo. Jory eyed Josh up and down and back, seeing Byron peeking at Josh’s tail, then tracking back to Josh’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit, this is the craziest fucking experience I’ve ever had,” Jory said almost breathless. “It’s like being in a movie theater with 3D glasses but without the theater or the glasses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So real life, essentially,” Ben said sardonically from a safe distance next to Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t suppose you can tell us how you did this,” Byron posed, finally stopping next to Jory from the opposite side he started on and turning to Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh tried to speak again to no avail before snapping his jaw in frustration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t talk, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh shook his head “no”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew stifled a laugh. “That’s kinda lame,” he said, crossing his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Weird too,” Byron added. “If we go by One Piece logic, transforming into some sort of animal would make this a Zoan type. But, if I recall correctly, all of them can talk even while fully transformed...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does it really matter though?” Jory said. “I mean, fuck, if we’re talkin’ One Piece, then wouldn’t this be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mythical</span>
  </em>
  <span> Zoan fruit? Aren’t those considered, like, some of the best out there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and ones that can fly,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And Josh just so happens to get both?” Ben said, flicking his hand open to gesture toward Josh. “Seriously, what are the odds?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but I’m not complaining,” Byron said. “With this in our arsenal, we might actually stand a chance at taking some early wins.” (He said this while extending an arm as if to showcase Josh.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh snorted angrily as if to say, “I can hear you, bitch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, right,” Byron said. “You can’t talk. Sorry for leaving you out of the conversation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh sniffed as if to say, “You’re damn right you are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aaaaaanywho,” Ben said awkwardly, “it looks like we got what we came here for today, sooooo...can we go home now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you KIDDING ME!?” Jory exploded. “We literally have a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON staring us right in the face and you just wanna...pack it in for the day!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, really,” Drew said with a shit-eating grin. “At the very least we should have it perform some tricks for us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s not a pet,” Byron said, anticipating Josh’s unspoken retort. “But yes, we should absolutely take him for a walk.” Byron turned toward Josh. “How about it? Wanna try moving around a bit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sick,” Byron said, clasping his hands together. He motioned to the others to come closer. “Guys, help me out a bit. Josh, we’re going to do a quick muscle check and then get your tail out from under you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron began pointing to body parts and giving commands for movements, Josh complying. At the same time he gave instruction for Drew and Jory to move toward the base of Josh’s tail and for Ben to move closer to the tip. After finishing the major muscles Josh could easily move, Byron then turned his attention to the tail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Josh, we’re now going to move your tail. First, can you move it on your own?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh looked down at his newfound appendage. Staring at it intently, the object spasmed slightly in its midsection and then soon the tip raised and fell several times. Josh looked at Byron with a disturbed look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine. This might feel a little weird, but bear with it, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron instructed the others to grab hold of the tail in various strategic spots; Ben closer to the tip and Drew and Jory near the base on either side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh,” Jory said, “it’s so...smoooooth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And hard,” Ben said. “Almost like steel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we add that it’s long and thick while we’re at it?” Drew said. “You know, make this more awkward than it already is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh craned his neck to look at Drew and grunted as if to tell him to “Can it.” (“Alright, alright, Mushu,” Drew said sarcastically but quietly.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh, if you can, try moving the muscles where Jory and Drew are upward,” Byron said, joining Ben at his point on the tail. We’re going to push this side out from under you toward them and they’ll pull. Everyone ready?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group gave some affirmations and steadied themselves for the act.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On three, okay? One. Two. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Three!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On cue the team carried out their respective tasks and Josh’s tail swung out backwards from under him, Drew and Jory backing away for safety as it did. Josh looked behind him at his tail and stood shakily on all fours, then steadied himself by shifting his feet into a firm, dignified, quadrupedal stance. The group cheered at their success and soon they were off to task number two: Byron directed the group to attempt to help Josh walk. With two on each side, they lifted Josh’s wings off the ground, giving him full range to move his feet. Taking this as his right of way, Josh began to move forward, one limb at a time. The group followed along, holding Josh’s wings as he stumbled forward a bit, but caught himself, picking up speed until he hit a rhythm. Once further toward the other end of the yard, Byron gave the command to turn around and together they made a u-turn and continued until they had made an entire lap from where they started. With their mission accomplished, the group came to a stop and celebrated their second achievement. As they talked amongst themselves and continued to inspect Josh’s new form, Drew checked his watch, his cocky smile warping into a frown.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit, I can’t believe we just did that,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And props to Josh for figuring that out so quickly,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Josh, I have to say: that’s impressive,” Drew said. “Now...how do you change back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The celebrations came to a screeching halt as the group began to realize the predicament they were in. They all looked at Josh who looked back at each of them and snorted as if to say, “Don’t look at me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh,” Byron began, “are you sure there’s nothing you can recall from the moment you transformed we could use to change you back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh thought for a moment, then shook his head, “No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Jory deadpanned. “What the fuck do we do now!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there any way to...force him to change back?” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not that I can remember from the show,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well...there is potentially one…” Byron said reluctantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? What is it?” Jory said excitedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron pointed to his eye. “In a worst case scenario, if I can get my power working again, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>should </span>
  </em>
  <span>be able to turn him back with a Geass Order. But that’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>big</span>
  </em>
  <span> should. I have honestly no clue how superpowers from different fictional universes would interact.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but you can’t use it right now, can you?” Ben said. “What do we do with Josh in the meantime? We can’t just leave him here like this...can we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we can get him inside, at least we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him,” Byron mused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Drew said looking over to the door they came out of. “That looks to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pfft...</span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty tight fit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh looked at the door as well and grunted, shaking his head “no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess that rules out that plan,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Plan B then: we cover him up,” Byron said. He turned to Josh. “Is there a tarp or something we can lay over you until we come back to help you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh thought again for a moment, then nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A tarp?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh nodded again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Garage?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another nod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, that settles it. Here’s the plan: Ben, go fetch the tarp. The rest of us are going to get Josh situated to fit under it. After that, I guess we’ll call it a day and reconvene tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll do some research on Zoan powers to see if there’s anything I can find to help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh grunted again, seemingly alarmed. This time he pointed to the door and then at his tail and managed to move the tip from side to side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, do you want to try going inside after all?” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh hissed in frustration and looked around the yard. After honing in on one area, he trudged over to it and dug a claw into the dirt. The others gathered around to see him complete the project; in the dirt four big letters spelled out: D O G S.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I was expecting to see some stuff today,” Drew said, “but I just watched a dragon write a word in the dirt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> is some crazy shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh quickly got to work drawing in the dirt some more, making two rune-like symbols.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, wow!” Ben said. “Maybe by being a dragon, Josh learned an entirely new language!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Knowing Josh, he’s probably just doing that to spite him,” Byron said standing upright. “In any case, he’s right to be concerned: we need to figure out who’s taking care of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shoot,” Ben said in realization. “For that matter, what about food and water for Josh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dogs aside, we can always just let him starve until we find a solution,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t that still be considered animal abuse?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But he’s a person, right?’ Jory said. “Or, wait...would he be considered a lizard under the law right now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unless you’re PETA advocating for our fictional creature, no,” Drew said, rolling his eyes. “A day or two isn’t gonna kill him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fasting</span>
  </em>
  <span> is an option,” Byron said. “At least for tonight. Water won’t be an issue; we can sort that out before we leave. Sorry, Josh, but we don’t have many other options here. You’ll have to go hungry tonight if we’re not going to attract any unwanted attention.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh nodded understandingly. He then shook his head and wagged his tail again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The dogs would probably have to be fed and let out tonight,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could probably tell my parents I accidentally left something important here,” Jory said. “They think I’m here getting help with English.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That solves that,” Byron said, “but we should also stop by in the morning with some breakfast and to get the dogs out. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the most important meal of the day and I like to think we take care of our own. Any objections?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron looked around the group, each member giving a silent affirmation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s get to work. And hustle, people. I want as much time to research as possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group sprang into action, Ben moving toward the house and the others deciding on a suitable location. While all of this happened, back on the street in front of Josh’s house, Officer Pérez and Agent Smith sat in their car in relative silence. Then the radio beeped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is unit six. I’ve reached location. No possible visuals on the suspects from the road. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Agent Smith clicked his tongue. “Nothing, huh…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seems like they’ve handled your little stunt well,” Officer Pérez said while Agent Smith brought his espresso to his lips, attempting to take a sip but realizing it was empty. “I told you,” she continued, “they’re not going to try anything funny while they know they have eyes on them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or they’re playing around it in a way we can’t see,” Smith replied, putting the empty cup back in the cup holder. “Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better location: surrounded by forest from all surrounding roads, an extended drive up a hill with a multiple story house blocking the backyard, and a hill in the front obscuring most of the house itself. It’s like a natural bunker. How lucky can these kids get?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Given how out of the way it is, I would bet they picked this spot on purpose,” Pérez said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, but if it’s so out of the way, wouldn’t that make it harder for them to use it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, a group of figures emerged from around the back of the house, heading toward Drew’s car. Drew and Jory brought up the front (Jory yelling “I call shotgun!”), followed by Ben and then Byron who trailed behind, turning and yelling something into the yard before continuing on. Smith, eyes still trained on the boys, reached for his radio.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Suspects are on the move. All units, prepare for pursuit. Over. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m still not sure how I feel about calling them ‘suspects’, Pérez said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Agent shifted to drive but looked at the officer before pulling away. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re still hiding something. And I’m going to find out </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boys soon reached Drew’s car and began to pile in. Byron, being the last one headed around the side, saw a car pulling forward past Josh’s house and going toward the loop at the end of the street. He stopped and stared for a moment, attempting to keep his sinking fear from expressing it on his face as the car came back around and passed the house from the loop. Then he hurried and moved to the other side of the car, opening the door and getting in quickly. As Byron was getting in, Ben glanced at him and immediately noticed his distress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Byron? What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think our stalkers may have got us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh, what do you mean?” Ben said nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That car that just pulled away. It wasn’t the one from before, but that was strange behavior…” His eyes narrowed and he placed his chin in his hand. “...Were they the police too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think they saw anything?” Drew said, starting the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s not possible… Oh, shit—did they </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything? Wait, no...if they heard something then they would’ve taken action, right? But how could they miss that…? Then were they really the police?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should we change plans?” Jory said worriedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, we stay the course. Just be prepared in case something goes seriously wrong.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> is there nothing here!?” Byron said with clear agitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned back in his chair at the cluttered desk in his room and put his face in his hands, taking a deep breath and exhaling in exasperation while running his hands down his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At this rate, I’d be better off skimming the source material...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned away from his computer to ease his weary eyes, immediately fixating on the window by his bed. The sky had already turned dark and the melody of crickets resounded from the yard. He glanced at the clock on the desk by his bed, only to cringe at the loss of time. Then he repositioned himself forward and hunched over in his chair, closing his eyes and putting his finger tips to his temples and pushing as if to squeeze the anxiety out of his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uck, I have a long night ahead of me...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked back up at the computer screen, the One Piece wiki glaring back at him through the glow of his computer screen. A frown spread across his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...But before that, I need a break.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron spun in his chair and threw out his arms and legs to stretch them. In one movement he retracted them, and tilted out of the chair, standing upright to trudge to the foot of his bed. He then fell onto it face-first and laid there motionless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I just had my </span>
  <em>
    <span>powers working</span>
  </em>
  <span> we wouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> this crunch right now,” he mumbled to himself into the blanket. Turning his face to the wall, he continued: “but there’s no information on </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> either…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron pushed himself up upright and sat cross legged, looking over at the giant mirror attached to his dresser. He then put his hand to his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then again, even if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a working theory on how this stuff works, that’s no guarantee that Josh or I could even apply it…” He looked back at the mirror, his weariness clearly showing on his face, then shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe Drew was right: I need a training method.” He tapped his temple twice, thinking for a moment. “...Would visualization work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron moved his hands to a meditative position and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Try to remember what it was like that time...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Images of the night at the park flashed before his mind’s eye: the girl’s limp, bloody body in his arms, the Commander’s gleeful grin after wounding her, the moment the girl formalized their contract...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There was a feeling like energy radiating from my eye…but I don’t feel it now... ...Is it still within me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He breathed in steadily again. In Byron’s mind, a replica of his body appeared. After exhaling, a band of light like a scanning laser appeared at his toes and his fingertips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Check every corner, from the tips of my toes to the tips of my fingers to the tip of my head...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light in his mind’s eye slowly moved over parts of his body, soon converging in his mid-section and moving up to the tip of his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Nothing… Then maybe if I...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another breath in, another breath out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Focus your will and make it manifest…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In Byron’s mind, a floating light switch as if mounted to the darkness in front of him appeared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The glow in my eye, like a bulb in a fixture, I just need to flip it on...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The image of Byron in his mind’s eye slowly reached for the light switch, and carefully pinched the toggle, he prepared himself, then counted down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Three... Two… One…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The image in his mind flipped the switch and his imagination was filled with light. Byron opened his eyes abruptly and looked in the mirror. He stared at it with a calm yet unexpectant gaze but then his eyes widened as he saw it: a glowing, bird-like symbol in his left eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Byron yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw his arms up triumphantly and fell backwards on his bed. He then quickly scrambled to the mirror, practically pressing his face up against it and inspecting his eye with a finger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea why that worked, but it did. And if I can turn it </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span> that way…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron closed his eyes again, taking another round of breaths. Then nodded as if to signal the point at which the light switch flipped off in his imagination and he opened his eyes. The symbol was nowhere to be seen. Byron giggled giddily (with a slight tinge of mania). </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And with that, our immediate future is secured,” he said with a smile ear to ear. He then turned to his desk and soon narrowed his eyes. “But maaaybe I can eek out one more option.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron walked to his desk and picked up his phone, punching some numbers in for speed dial and holding the phone to his ear as he typed with his free hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi there,” a familiar voice rang on the other end (along with the faint music of Deadmau5 in the background), “you’ve reached Charlie, the recently nominated future God of this world. Please leave your pitifully insignificant message after the tone—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie, I know it’s you,” Byron said sternly. “Your voice mail doesn’t sound like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spoil sport,” Charlie said bitterly. “Anyway, I’m busy. Whaddaya want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, first, I wanted to check up on you. How are you? Anything to report?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing just swell,” Charlie said exuberantly. “But if yer lookin’ for anything like what I heard you guys ran into today, then no dice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you’ve been briefed on our current situation?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean our new pet lizard!? Yeah, Jory couldn’t keep it to himself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, good,” Byron said with a nod. “Can I ask a favor, then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll allow this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just found a way to fix our lizard’s problem. But I’m going to need a ride in the morning over to Josh’s. I was thinking since most of the fast food options are nearer to my place that maybe you could swing by to pick me up and we can bring our lizard some breakfast while we’re at it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie inhaled excitedly. “We finally goin’ to Taco Bell?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Charlie, we’re going to McDonald’s. Taco Bell doesn’t serve breakfast.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie drew a sharp breath through his teeth. “Oooooooo, sorry. I think I’m bussyyyy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, you've been saying that a lot lately,” Byron said doubtfully. “What exactly are you up to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ll see,” Charlie said ominously. You’ll ALL see...mwahahahahaHAHAHA! Bye~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie abruptly hung up. Byron looked at the phone in his hand and sighed. Then he punched in a few more numbers and held the phone to his ear once more.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Again, I’m really sorry about having to ask you to do this,” Byron said in the passenger’s seat with a few McDonald’s bags in his lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t sweat it,” Drew said, flipping on his car’s left turn signal and pulling into Josh’s drive. “Just don’t make a habit out of it. I don’t exactly feel like driving everyone halfway around the country.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, hopefully this’ll be the last time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, Drew parked the car and the two got out, making their way to Josh’s backyard. But before they did, Drew turned to the car parked across the street and flexed, waving afterward and then turning to follow after Byron.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you really need to do that every time?” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, just gotta make sure they’re still into me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byron only shook his head in disappointment. “I'm not even gonna bother arguing, I’m too tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you look pretty worn out. What, not a morning person?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You could say that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I feel ya, bro. Mornings suck.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After rounding the back of the house, the two set their sights on a large Dragon-shaped tent in the yard. After Byron checked around, he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Josh, you up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A brief huff of air answered that. Drew, trying to remember how they positioned Josh the day prior, moved to where they tucked Josh’s water, pulling up the tarp a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey bud, we brought you some—I’m talking to your ass, alright.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew walked around to the other side and lifted the tarp again, this time facing Josh’s dragon head. “Rise and shine, bitch. We got the numz.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh gave a pouting snort and moved his head out a bit from the tarp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hope you like pancakes,” Drew continued, “we basically fucked over the dollar menu to get all this. Also, you owe me ten bucks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh just rolled his eyes and lightly opened his mouth, Drew reaching into one of the many containers and fishing out some recently syrup-topped mini-cakes. He started to toss them in one at a time, giving Josh time to chew and swallow after each one. Byron smiled at the sight and then joined the conversation</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How goes it, Josh? Any progress on changing back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh shook his head ‘no’ while munching on a pancake and swallowing. Byron sighed as Josh opened up his mouth and Drew tossed another one in there like a frisbee, Josh snapping his jaws shut on it and continuing to chew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that rules out that option. Welp, we’re in a bit of a pickle then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew looked over at Byron as he tossed yet another pancake into Josh’s mouth. “Huh? I thought you said you had something that would work. Isn’t that why I had to get you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did… Buuut, thinking about it more overnight, it may not be the best idea…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I highly doubt it’ll be any worse than where we’re at, dude,” Drew said sarcastically, eyeing the massive dragon to his side which was still chewing on a pancake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Byron said reluctantly. “I didn’t want it to come to this...” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath while gripping his fists and holding his arms steady. Then opened his eyes forcefully revealing the sudden red glow of his Geass-lit eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...But if all else fails this morning,” Byron said, pointing to his eye, “we do have </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> up our sleeve.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew whistled as he and Josh looked on in amazement. “That’s definitely ‘something’. But this is good, right? You can just use your magic pink eye and turn Josh back to his old self. What’s the hang up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The potential side effects,” Byron said, soon after going through the motions to turn the power off. “So here’s the deal, Josh: I </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>give an order for you to control your powers, if you’re willing to try it. If it works, going forward, that would be a massive advantage for us—that’s the upside. The downside is that if I word the order improperly, it could potentially screw you up forever. And there are no take-backs or do-overs on this: I can only issue an order to someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If that happens, we’re in a far worse position than we’re in now. Does that make sense?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Begrudgingly, Josh nodded as he was fed another pancake. Drew cringed a bit at the news.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you can only do this kind of thing once,” Drew said, “it sounds kind of important. Wouldn’t it be better to save it for a rainy day?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Byron said, “but right now it really doesn’t look like we have much other choice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So are there ANY other options?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I did have ONE idea. But Josh probably—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh grunted spitefully to interrupt him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Sorry. Still not used to you not being able to talk. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> probably won’t like it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh tilted his head to show his interest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The only other thing I could think of is to put you under extreme duress. That’s how my power activated the first time and it’s also how most superpowers activate for the first time in fiction, so if we could simulate a compelling enough scenario to force the motivation to change back, it may just happen naturally.” (Drew’s eyebrows raised and he started looking around.) “The only problem is, I couldn’t think of any way to make that happen. Josh, any ideas?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh looked up to signal he was thinking. After a moment (and as Drew’s eyes fixed on something in particular in the yard) he shook his head, “No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then Geass is our only choice,” Byron concluded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if we tried to throw him in the pool?” Drew said, jabbing a finger over his shoulder toward the aforementioned structure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh gave a slight hiss and shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m just giving suggestions,” Drew said. “Think of it this way: if you don’t want to die, transform back before you hit the water.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s really risky though,” Byron said. “Although, I guess it is feasible... Your body will go limp the second you’re submerged, so that’s no good. But you won’t die since your neck is long enough to be able to breathe. The only other problem is: we won’t be able to get you out of the pool anytime soon if it doesn’t work and there’s not really any way of coming back from that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh seemed to have a relieved look on his face (or as much as he could given his current state).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay?” Drew said. “So are we gonna try it or not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron put his hand to his chin. “I’m thinking that maybe we can simulate those feelings </span>
  <em>
    <span>without</span>
  </em>
  <span> him actually going in the water. If that doesn’t work, then we won’t have a choice but to use Geass. That’s worth a shot. Josh, can you come over by the pool?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh shook his head slightly as if to say, “Fuck no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, do you wanna turn back without being my magic guinea pig? We should try this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh took a few moments to himself in silence and then gave a long sigh, pushing himself up to move closer to the water. Once at the water’s edge, they continued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I want you to stare at the water and I’ll walk you through some mental exercises to get you in the zone. The key to this is to be scared. You need to feel fear. I know that’s not something you’ll enjoy, but you need to try your best to recall those feelings. Imagine how it felt to be in the water, realizing how helpless you were. Imagine how your body goes limp, how you can’t move an inch—the panic that ensued.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew smiled slyly and whispered something to Byron. Byron nodded, the two stealthily moving to Josh’s backside as Byron continued talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now close your eyes. Recall the last moment before you lost consciousness in the bath. You want to scream, but your lips won’t move. Your sight starts to haze. Your life could end...right...</span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Byron finished, both he and Drew geared up and shoved at Josh’s back with enough force to make him budge. Josh shrank almost instantly, the force from his friends following through and he skidded to the edge of the pool, his arms waving around in a circular motion as he tried to catch his balance. He tipped forward ever so slightly, deadpanning as he fell into the water. Byron cussed and immediately dove in after him, helping him out of the pool as fast as possible. Josh sputtered and coughed from being waterlogged, and when Byron finally let him off his shoulder he kneeled on his hands and knees, sucking in as much air as he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, Josh, you’re back to your old self,” Byron said happily (though also thoroughly soaked).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can...see that...dipshit…” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, don’t thank me,” Drew said haughtily. “It wasn’t almost entirely my idea or anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You said...you weren’t gonna...push me in!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We weren’t going to,” Byron said. “We just wanted to make you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> we would so you’d get scared and turn back. And you did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh coughed again. “Yeah, and nearly died in the process.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty more of that, compadre,” Drew said. “Better get used to that. So about my thank you…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh pushed himself up to his knees and Byron offered him a hand, helping him stand. “...I do admit, it’s...good to be able to speak again. ...And not worry about being stuck like that. So...thanks. I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No problem,” Byron said with an earnest grin. “But, uh, I think we should probably get going on things. I kinda wanna dry off before school and we still have the dogs to take care of. Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a bit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, let’s go. I’ll have to change too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, the three made their way to the house (but before they entered, Byron yelled, “Oh, shit! I can finally focus on deciphering the message!”) Meanwhile, on the other side of the street outside of the house, a car was parked again in the usual spot. The figure in the car sat staring at the premises. Suddenly the radio in their car sounded off, the familiar voice of Agent Smith on the other end.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blip. “Unit at location. Update on the suspects?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The figure hit a button on their radio.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Suspects still at location. Very strange to be delivering food at six in the morning on a school day. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on here...” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Jory took a satisfying bite out of his chicken sandwich as Josh separated out another section of his orange to eat. Jory looked over at the vacant seat by him, Byron still absent from the table. He then looked up at the three televisions in the middle of the commons area, seeing that A Lunch would be ending in only a few minutes. Jory took his final bite and looked over at Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soooo… Uh… What was it like to have wings?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For the eighth time you’ve asked about being a dragon,” Josh said irritably, “I can’t explain it in words.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, c’mon, dude, give me </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jory whined sitting back in his seat and looking up at the ceiling. “You’re like a stone wall except I can’t even bounce stuff off of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I’m not like a stone wall in that regard,” Josh said, popping an orange slice in his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, where the fuck is Byron when you need him?” Jory said sinking in his chair. “He’s usually a sticker for food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Probably off working on that picture’s message,” Josh said. “He did say earlier that he was going to focus on that exclusively now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because he doesn’t have to worry about his power anymore,” Jory said, sinking further. “Do you think if I asked him he’d eyeball my power into being?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe if you posed it as becoming his willing test subject. But do you really want to let </span>
  <em>
    <span>Byron</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all people play mad scientist with your will?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory sighed and put his hands over his face. “Good point. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> this is infuriating...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first bell after A lunch finally began to ring, all of the students beginning to pick up their things.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of infuriating,” Jory said without moving an inch. He then snapped back into an upright position and scarfed down the remainder of his lunch. Meanwhile, Josh packed his stuff and got up to clip his lunchbox to his backpack. Jory also got up to throw out his styrofoam tray.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go look for him before my class actually starts,” Josh said, putting on his backpack. “I’ll let you know what I found later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Jory said, disappointedly doing the same. “Cya later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory walked off from Josh as the latter made his way to the office hallway. When he reached the office, amongst the flood of students moving in the opposite direction he spied Ben and Drew on their way to B Lunch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, well, what goes on, amigo?” Drew said with a carefree grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, Josh!” Ben said in relief, ushering the group to the benches out of the way of the other students. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why wouldn’t I be?” Josh said hesitantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew made it out to seem like you might be in serious trouble!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Josh said, looking to Drew with confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, that’s not fair,” Drew said with a snarky smirk. “All I said is that ‘you’ll have to see for yourself what happened next’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. AFTER you said you tried to push him in the pool!” Ben whined to Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, as you can see, I’m okay now,” Josh said, trying to get away from that conversation. “Anyway, either of you seen Byron?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben and Drew looked at each other curiously, Drew shaking his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No?” Ben said. “Why? What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing necessarily. He just never showed up for lunch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t sound right,” Drew said. “That guy loves his munchies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seriously,” Ben said. “Where the heck is he…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My thoughts: he’s either taking a massive dump, or he’s being a nerd and holed himself up in the library,” Drew said. “He did say he wanted to focus on the message this morning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s true,” Josh said. “I’ll take a look there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll come with you,” Ben said, giving a thumb’s up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, same here,” Drew said. “Maybe he found something interesting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh shrugged. “Alright, but don’t bitch about your lost lunch time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that the new group of three made their way to the library section of the school, looking around for their absent friend. He wasn’t seen in the immediate area, so they decided the next best place to look was nearer to the back. Sure enough, there Byron was: completely knocked out in a little cubby meant for private studying. He laid there on pages upon pages of loose leaf papers scattered in front of him, all scribbled on in pencil, along with the picture of the girl stood up in the back of the cubby. The group circled around him taking in the strange sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like someone needed to use the sleep,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, looks like it,” Drew said as he smiled playfully. “Let’s tip him over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, that’s kinda mean,” Ben said, looking over to Drew with disappointment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, nah, you’re right. That’s too predictable,” Drew said with an even more mischievous look. He picked out a few of the thickest books he could find from the bookshelves around Byron’s quarters and dropped them as a stack on the space, making a heavy banging sound. Ben facepalmed and Josh looked unamused, but the action did seem to stir Byron from his slumber.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Huh?” he said, jolting upward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Ey, welcome back to Earth,” Drew said, waving in front of his face to turn his attention toward them. “You okay, bro? It ain’t like you to miss lunch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh...sorry,” Byron said, turning back to the material in front of him. “I guess I fell asleep.” Byron tipped forward a bit again, as if almost nodding off. He shook his head to wake up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Byron?” Josh said worriedly. “How much sleep have you gotten in the last forty-eight hours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron weakly looked at his watch, then put his head down on the desk facing Josh. “About thirty minutes...give or take...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude, you need to sleep for real,” Drew said. “You look like a wreck.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron yawned loudly and slowly closed his eyes. “But...danger...only lead...need to prepare...for attack…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron dozed off again. Josh and Ben looked at each other, exchanging worried glances.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow, he’s really been going at it,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Huh?” Byron said snapping awake again. “What’d you say…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard,” Josh said, rolling his eyes. “Byron, you realize that if our enemies attacked us right now, we’d be screwed because you’re basically dead, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we were attacked right now, we wouldn’t stand a chance anyway. I need to use what little time we have left.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, it's not like you're actually going to get much done now. This isn't an anime."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron blinked for a moment, taking in the thought, then his eyes closed and he sighed. “Good point...will note…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I wanted to share something with you I was thinking about but couldn’t say before because...well, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Byron said, without lifting his head or opening his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can I see that picture Drew gave you again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Byron said, pushing himself up and grabbing the picture from the makeshift stand he made in the cubby. He gave it to Josh with two fingers and then buried his head in his arms. “I couldn’t crack the code; it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. But I already have the message on the back written in my notes, so if you need it for a while you can have it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll only need it for a moment,” Josh said as he scanned the photo over front and back. After squinting his eyes he nodded to himself. “I knew it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Knew what?” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This photo is sepia.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone but Byron looked at him in confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As in, </span>
  <em>
    <span>pre</span>
  </em>
  <span> black and white. This photograph is </span>
  <em>
    <span>old</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>decades </span>
  </em>
  <span>old.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That revelation made Byron jolt up in his seat and look at Josh. “What…?” Josh offered the photo back to Byron. He took it and looked at it again. “You’re sure about that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Positive,” Josh replied with a nod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw fuck, are you telling me my secret admirer is an old hag?” Drew said bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” Josh said. “Because we saw this girl in the forest. You remember how she looked?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She looked just like she did in the photo...like she hasn’t aged…” Ben said wearily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s to be expected from what I know of her powers,” Byron said. “She’d have to be immortal to make a contract with me. But why would she give us such a dated pic—” Byron stopped in his tracks, the realization hitting him like a truck. He looked at the others, each of them realizing it too. They stared at each other for a moment in awkward silence. Byron looked back at the picture. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Holy shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Josh—I think you’re onto something. With this I might finally be able to—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The five minute bell rang, drawing the group of boys out of their conversation. Byron cursed and scrambled to get his things together. Josh excused himself first as Ben and Drew gave Byron a hand, the latter lamenting about “how he could be so stupid.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>On the roof of the school’s gymnasium, a figure clothed entirely in black, not an inch of skin or hair exposed, sat with their legs hanging over a ventilation unit. They held their gaze on the domed section of the building, their face concealed by a Japanese mask resembling a rat. Without warning, the sound of air being ruptured intruded on the space, quickly stopping as soon as it started. The figure with the rat mask took out a phone, stared at the contents for a moment, then put it away again as a few crunching sounds came from behind them. Suddenly they spoke, not moving their sight from the dome yet revealing a thick Brooklyn accent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like dey’re progressin’ as expected. At dis rate, so long as no one interferes, dey'll be ready fawh deir next challenge.” The speaker then turned their head to greet the newcomer to the scene, speaking in a teasing way. “But I betcha figured </span>
  <em>
    <span>dat</span>
  </em>
  <span> already, huh </span>
  <em>
    <span>A.A.</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The new figure stepped into the fore, this one wearing a blank mask. They reached up to their hood and pulled it down revealing long scarlet hair to which they ran their hands through to pull out of the back of their robe. Then the figure took off their mask revealing a familiar, pale complexion and deep, purple eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know my real name. There’s no reason not to use it,” she said, her eyes trained on the figure with the rat mask.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, where’s de fun in that?” the figure with the rat mask said, shrugging. “I gotta say though, no mattuh how much I watch dem, I still can’t help but find dem amusing. Yuh sure can pick dem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t choose them for their eccentricities.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatevuh yuh say, lady,” the figure with the rat mask said. “Although, I’ve been meanin’ tuh ask you: why even use an alias wit’ dem at dis point? It’s not like knowin’ your name changes anything.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Merely giving people what they want only robs them of the chance to learn how to get it for themselves,” “A.A.” said stoically. “They’ll need to be able to stand on their own two feet if they’re going to take on </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Every little challenge to overcome will build them into people I can rely on. I’ll protect them from the shadows, but I’m not going to hold their hands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“I guess you’re right,” the figure in the rat mask said, finally standing up and brushing themselves off. “Dat bitch is</span> <span>in a league of huh own. If dey doan have de experience tuh even stall huh, our investment will go tuh waste. But given what we’ve seen so far, I tink dey can make it.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That makes two of us,” “A.A.” said. “But for now, we continue to interfere only when necessary.” She turned around and ran her hand through her hair, gripping it and pulling it into a ponytail in one motion. She quickly bunched it up and tied it, pulling her hood over her head again. “After all, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t exist in this world, remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that she put her mask back on and turned around, another portal opened up. She stepped through it, the other figure casually following along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Be Continued...</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Event Horizon - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Event Horizon - Part 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“In light of recent events,” Officer Pérez’s disembodied voice said as a blank screen faded into a layout of six picture frames, “an update of sensitive information and protocols for the case you’ve been assigned has been issued.” As she listed off the legal names of the boys (Ben, Byron, Charlie, Drew, Jory, and Josh), pictures of them appeared on the screen and shrunk into place into each of the frames. “As you know, these six individual are the current suspects in our investigation of the Beverly Park incident. A detailed profile of each has been compiled for this presentation and we will be examining each figure in increasing order of interest to our operations. For the sake of time, I’ll keep this brief. Additional materials will be provided for retention. If you have no questions to start, we’ll begin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a quick pause, Officer Pérez continued as the picture of Jory expanded and the other pictures were replaced with a box of miscellaneous information—his full name, age, approximated height, etc. “Up first is Jordan, or as his friends call him, ‘Jory’. According to public information, Jordan has been diagnosed with a high-functioning form of autism. Despite this, he is highly social and our general assessment is that he has very strong loyalties to the group.” The information on the screen updated to another set. “This may pose a problem if he perceives us as a threat to his friends. That said, if we leave them alone, he should leave us alone, making him the least of our worries. Best not to complicate things by landing on his enemies list.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The image of Jory quickly shrank and the pictures of the other boys appeared again. Then, another image of the boys enlarged and similar information was displayed—this time, Drew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Second we have Andrew, also known as ‘Drew’ by his peers. However, you may know him as the one who’s been making flexing motions at our agents.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few snickers came from the crowd before Pérez spoke again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be that as it may, in terms of threat level, we don’t hold him that highly as an individual; his actions seem more comedic in nature than malicious and, besides giving us a minor upset to our communications, haven’t amounted to anything detrimental.” Again, the information on the screen updated. “However, bear in mind that while his actions may seem innocent, they do demonstrate a brazenness that may lead to more extreme antics with the others in the mix. If they decide to aid him in messing with us, who knows what they might do. Presently, our understanding of his investment with the group and vice versa is limited so the likelihood of this is unknown. Nevertheless, Command would like to stress that under no conditions should our operations be compromised over a series of pranks. We do have our reputation to consider as acting agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Don’t let him get to your head.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again, the image on the screen shifted back to the original view and now Charlie’s image enlarged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Next we have Charles, who normally goes by ‘Charlie’,” the Officer said. “At this time we don’t have a lot of information on him besides what we can glean from his stint at the hospital...and even then our options are between a mental patient in the making or a highly duplicitous troublemaker. Luckily, his lack of involvement with the others thus far makes him seem more of a lone actor. Let’s hope it stays that way. If he does start to cooperate more with the others, we’ll probably have to consider him more of a threat. Stay on your toes with this one—there’s no telling what he’ll do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once more, the image changed out for another like before, this time featuring Byron’s picture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kicking off our top three figures of interest, we have Byron. From our initial observations, he seems to be the leading brain of the bunch. This means his word likely carries a lot of weight in the group and, judging by their tactics so far, warrants their respect. I can tell you first hand that he meant business from the word “go”; the kid had more questions for me than I did for him in our initial investigations and every phrase seemed delicately crafted to indirectly glean our jist of their situation. Without a doubt, he is our highest priority threat. If he decides their best option is to mobilize against us, the entire group very likely and </span>
  <em>
    <span>aptly </span>
  </em>
  <span>will. This must be avoided, if at all possible. As a matter of precaution, we’ve included a set of protocols for that situation in the additional materials you’ll be provided. Study them well and be prepared for the worst.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another change of the featured image later and Josh’s picture took the fore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our final two figures of interest will be the centerpieces of our strategy going forward. First is Joshua, “Josh” as his friends call him. As far as threats to our operations go, it’s hard to pin him down. During initial investigations he didn’t talk much, suggesting either that he doesn’t have much to say, or he’s smart enough to know to keep his mouth shut.” The graphic changed to show several images of Josh’s house, including an overhead view. “Regardless, it appears as though he’s allowed the group to use his house as their primary base of operations, at least for now. Avoiding legal issues involving him and his family as we ramp up surveillance there is our next set of hurdles, and his placement here on this list reflects that. ...Which brings us to our chief figure of interest...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, the picture swapped out to Ben’s image.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Benjamin, or Ben for short. Out of all the members of this group, Benjamin seems to be somewhat of a fish out of water: he is temperamentally and behaviorally benign, seemingly unprepared for their current situation, and—perhaps most importantly—cooperative with authority figures. It is our belief that if we were to attempt flipping one of the suspects to become an informant for us, Benjamin would be the only viable candidate. Of course, this plan is contingent on his investment in the group. For now, we’ll be observing the situation to see if strains in their relationships develop.” Ben’s picture shrank as well, the ending slide having all of their pictures at once. “During that time, we’ll be preparing to start intercepting their communications, as well as any contact they might have with possible third parties. Our number one priority is to figure out what connections they have, if any, to known criminal quantities. Until that’s settled, we stay committed to guarding them from any external threats, just like any other members of the public.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the lights flipped on. Officer Pérez stood before a small group of individuals by a large screen TV displaying the ending slide of her presentation. As the screen turned off, she moved front and center and addressed the audience.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Before we move on to our updated protocols, does anyone have any questions?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the officers raised their hand, Pérez pointing at them to give them the go ahead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mentioned something about spying on Joshua’s residence more. I get that we don’t have a way to view the place conveniently, but what exactly are we hoping to find there? It doesn’t seem like anyone else would be able to get in there without us noticing since it’s such a closed space.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it’s highly unlikely that they’re meeting someone in secret there,” Pérez stated. “However, multiple trips back there over the past twelve hours by different members has us wondering. We think something happened or is happening there that’s more than just general meetings. Finding out what might give us clues on other parts of the investigation. For example: we still don’t really know what happened in the forest and they’re not exactly willing to tell us. For all we know, what we find may prove their innocence or guilt by itself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Satisfied by the answer, the officer nodded. Then, another rose their hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a question. If you’re looking for an informant, why not Jordan? If he cares about his friends so much, posing as trying to clear their names might get him to play along.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez shook her head. “Our Task Force Director pitched that idea as soon as he heard that too. Take it from me personally: it won’t happen, unfortunately. During initial investigations, Jordan was only barely willing to cooperate with officers, citing a general distrust of the police, and was near-obsessive with the health of his friends after their hospitalization. It’s highly doubtful he’d be willing to mislead his friends, which rules him out as a potential mole completely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The second officer shrugged, conceding the point. Pérez scanned the others in the group. Seeing no other questions, she readied herself for the next portion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s move on to the protocols, then. The first addition was already conveyed by Command, but I’ll be reiterating it here: personal interaction with suspects is prohibited even in the case that suspects initiate contact. Additionally, in the case that they force contact and your identity is compromised, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> refer them to Command. We’ll keep a special line open just in case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You really think they would try doing that,” one of the officers in the crowd asked incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In a worst case scenario, yes,” Pérez said. “Their strategic skills are more sophisticated than an average group of teenagers. And if they really are just a bunch of kids who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, ending up in combat similar to what we found in the park may prompt them to seek our help.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know their actions so far aren’t just a fluke?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“During the interview process after the Beverly Park incident, all of them had the same story of memory loss but one—you might remember that as the werewolf story. We’ve recently established that they had already contacted each other in every case before we were able to meet with any of them. Our guess is that they lined up their stories during that time and used the concern they had for one another’s health as a cover. If so, that’s pretty slick, if you ask me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why would they have one give us a bogus story,” a different officer asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It could be to throw us off. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that part was improvised. They </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> organized, but not without their idiosyncrasies. Sometimes they’ll act out of concert. ...Which brings us to our second and final change of protocol: now that we’ve established members of the group have active transportation, individual flight risks have become an issue. At the moment, we don’t think any of them would make or organize this kind of move, but that status may change at any time. Heightened precautions should be taken during travel. Your station location and routing assignments will be changing somewhat to account for that. Before you leave, we have some materials for you to review for each of your specific assignments. With this package, you’ll receive the additional information I promised.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Agent Smith appeared, holding a number of manilla folders. Pérez acknowledged his presence with a nod and turned back to the group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This ends the briefing. If you have further questions regarding your assignments, take it up with your superiors. Updated information will be given to you in presentations such as this one from this point forward. ...And one last piece of advice: while these boys may seem like ordinary high schoolers, they’re still under investigation for sedition conspiracy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Do not</span>
  </em>
  <span> underestimate them under any circumstances. They </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> exploit that. ...You’re dismissed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group of officers shuffled to gather their things and made their way to the door when they were prepared. Smith handed each of them a folder on their way out and soon only he and Officer Pérez remained. Pérez sighed and sat down on a table in the room as her superior approached her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the last batch of them,” Smith said. “Good work, Officer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez leaned back, sighing to herself. “Are you sure I’m an officer of the law? I feel more like someone’s lackey…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We may not see eye-to-eye on your assignments, but I value your attention to detail, Pérez,” the Agent said with a smirk. “There’s no one else I would trust more to catch everyone up on the details of the case. Besides, cobbling together this Task Force last minute and organizing their movements almost twenty-four-seven has had my hands full. If it weren’t for the rotation, there’s no way we would’ve been able to keep eyes on the suspects and update our units. Thanks to you, I get to sleep at some point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Happy to help,” Pérez said with a tinge of annoyance, averting her gaze. “So? What now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now we wait and see what our enemies have in mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think they’ll make their move soon,” Pérez asked while stretching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tough to say. But I do know that whenever it happens, we’ll need to be at our best. ...I noticed that you’ve been working overtime every day since the incident. I think you deserve a break. How about you take the rest of the night off?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez shot Smith an unappreciative glance. “So </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was your angle with these presentations. I’m starting to get the impression that you just don’t want me around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smith laughed in return and motioned for the two of them to walk toward the door. As they did, he continued. “You’re a hard worker, Pérez. I don’t regret my decision to have you join my unit. But I do have to wonder why it is you’re so intent on being involved in the dirty work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I take my job very seriously,” Pérez said, checking her watch. “...And it appears that I still have two more hours until I’m off the clock.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then maybe I should put this into language you can get behind,” Smith said as he opened the door and stood out of the way to give Pérez the cue to go first. “Take the night off, Pérez. That’s an order.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I figured you’d say something like that,” Pérez sighed, putting a hand to her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that a refusal to comply, Officer,” Smith asked with a devious grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you don’t have to tell me twice,” Pérez said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out the door. Smith watched her as she strode a few yards down the hall and stopped. Then, she turned slightly, and glared at Smith with a serious expression. “Just promise me that if things turn hot you contact me immediately. I still think those boys are innocent and I don’t want them getting hurt—not on my watch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two stood in silence for a moment until Smith replied with a nod, “I will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez gave Smith a quizzical look, surprised by his response. Then, she turned again, more relaxed now, and headed off down the hall. “I’ll be holding you to that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another moment of silence later, Smith yelled after her: “And by ‘take the night off’, I don’t mean work on the profiles of their acquaintances at home, got it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” Pérez said with her back turned as she waved him off and continued toward the exit.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>“First strike! Gained the lead.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl smirked in satisfaction, leaning back comfortably in his leather recliner as his fingers tapped away at the controller he held. Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, to which he maneuvered his character to cover so he could check his phone without getting killed. On the screen, the name “Ben Ervin” showed up as the caller ID. Karl tapped his phone to answer and rested it between his face and his shoulder as he settled in to get back into the fray.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Ervin’s voice came over the speaker, “is this a good ti—are you playing Halo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Karl said enthusiastically. “Wanna join?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe later... Actually, I wanted to ask you about something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fire away,” Karl said as he planted a rocket straight into another player’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I know this might sound crazy, but...did you notice anything...</span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span> about Ben and Byron when we talked with them yesterday?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whaddya mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like, is it just me or were they acting kinda...suspicious?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? What makes you say that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno. It just...sort of seemed like they were dodging questions, I guess. I mean, you saw the way they looked at each other when we asked them about what they did over break, right? And then there’s the last thing Byron said to Ben. It just seemed...kind of unusual.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeeeeeah,” Karl trailed off as he assassinated another player, “I think this might just be a ‘you thing’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Alright, I guess if you say so...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now I’m starting to think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> acting weird! What the hell even brought this on, anyway?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… Okay, over the weekend, I heard this story on the news about some incident that happened at Beverly Park. It sounded kind of serious so I decided to look into it a bit more and it turns out that some reports said that ‘several high schoolers were hospitalized’. I was thinking that that could’ve even been people from our school. Hit a little too close to home, you know what I mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is this Scooby-Doo bullshit,” Karl asked incredulously. “Are you saying you think they were involved in whatever happened over there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t prove anything, but it would explain why they acted that way. The question is why they would try to hide that from us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t the better question be how they could’ve been the ones hospitalized? That usually involves major injury, right? And that park crap went down the weekend before school started, yeah? We saw them recently and they didn’t look hurt to me. Unless you saw something I didn’t?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh...no, I didn’t. That’s actually a really good point. But...I dunno, I just got this intuition that they’re hiding something. Like I said, I can’t prove it, but there’s hints of something going on with them, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mehhhh, even that might be going too far. But if you’re really set on looking into it, you could always just ask them what’s going on. Knowing them, if it’s nothing major they’d be more than willing to talk about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s true. But if they are hiding something, wouldn’t they lie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then bring up the story to try and get a reaction! I don’t know... Honestly, I think you’re overthinking this. Maybe other Ben’s just going through something at the moment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is also a possibility,” Ervin mused. “Alright, I’ll do what you suggested. Thanks for hearing me out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure… So are you gonna join my game or what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, sure. See you in a bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ervin hung up and powered on his Xbox 360, still thinking about their conversation. “Maybe I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>overthinking this…”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>In a darkened house, a light flashed from under a doorway as muffled sounds of (obviously fake) thunder echoed from beneath the door. The flashing increased in rapidity in time with the thunder and when it reached a peak, all that could be heard was Charlie’s muted scream, "IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!"</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pérez took a large swig of beer and exhaled in frustration as she lazily placed the glass back on the countertop before her. She sat at a row of empty chairs at a pub, the bartender standing nearby while wiping a glass out with a cloth. Slumping forward in her chair and burying her head in her arms, she sighed heavily. “Damn Smith.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like my replacement’s been giving you trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez looked up only to see her old partner, Officer Williams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This seat taken?” he said with a raised eyebrow while pointing at the seat next to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not at all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams pulled out the seat and sat next to Pérez. The bartender came to take his order and he pointed at his fellow officer with a thumb. “I’ll have what she’s having.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bartender affirmed his order and went to work. Meanwhile, the two officers settled in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So much for getting on my case about smoking. Here you are drowning your sorrows.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not getting drunk,” Pérez snapped back. “I know my limits.” She smiled playfully. “And besides, a little alcohol won’t kill me, unlike your habit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, keeps my nerves from flaring up,” Williams said as the bartender finally gave him his drink. He thanked him quickly and took a swig of his own (to which he recoiled a bit at the taste and looked at the brand).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How are things back at the station,” Pérez asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s about as you’d probably expect: Ramsey’s running around like his head’s been cut off so everyone has to pick up the slack you left. I can see why he relied on you so much: unlike him, you have a knack for organization.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez laughed. “Yeah, that sounds right. And you? Have you settled in to your new place yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Took care of all that the day I got here. I have some acquaintances in the area who were more than willing to help me out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh really? They sound like more than acquaintances to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. But they’ve helped me out in a pinch before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lucky you,” Pérez said spitefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I take it your new assignment isn’t treating you well, then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, the job itself is fine. It’s my </span>
  <em>
    <span>boss</span>
  </em>
  <span> that’s giving me a headache.” Pérez took another swig.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? What’s he like?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s a passive-aggressive jerk,” Pérez exclaimed, slamming her hands on the countertop. She picked up her drink and tipped it in her previous partner’s direction as she spoke. “Honestly, though, I can’t complain about his work ethic or his understanding of what to do—at least he’s on top of things—but just the way he does it gets under my skin.” She took another swig.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So that’s why you’re here? To let off some steam?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I’m here because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>ordered</span>
  </em>
  <span> me to punch out early!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams snorted. “You’re drinking over mandatory time off? Wow, and I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a loser.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With the nature of what we’re investigating, I’m sure you can understand why I’m not thrilled to leave the case alone for any period of time,” Pérez said, glaring at Williams through her peripherals.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can imagine. More than you think,” Willaims said, taking a sip. He then held the bottle near his mouth, staring at it for a moment, then put the bottle down and lowered his voice. “How’s the case going, by the way?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I can’t answer that,” Pérez chastised in a whisper, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just good or not is fine with me. I don’t need the details.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Again, I’m not obliged to answer that. Although I’m surprised you’d even ask to begin with. A deadbeat like you wouldn’t seem like the type to get invested in a case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams nodded slowly. “That is kind of uncharacteristic of me, I guess. It's just...that case has trouble written all over it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it spilled out into other areas with the FBI involved. Who knows: maybe there’s some grand conspiracy afoot they’re trying to stomp out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, wouldn’t that be something,” Pérez said nonchalauntly, taking a small sip from her beer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m joking,” Williams said. “Besides, you’re not one to believe in conspiracies, remember? ‘Only if it’s the last viable interpretation’, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez smiled softly to herself. “Yeah, right…” She shook her head and looked back at her former partner with a gleam in her eyes. “Okay, enough about me. What I really want to know is what </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>doing here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who me? No reason in particular,” Williams said as he downed another swig.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooo?” Pérez cooed. “Are you sure about that? Or maybe you’re hiding your true reason.” She stopped and turned toward him, speaking excitedly. “...Don’t tell me...you’re playing the field?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not. I’ve sworn off love since high school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww, c’mooon! Why?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Too much of a hassle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooooh, boooo! Where’s your sense of adventure?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve had enough adventure for one life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you’re still so young! How can you say that!? I bet you haven’t even given it an honest shot! It’s not so bad... Here: I’ll even help set you up with someone right now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, as if a random girl would be attracted to a deadbeat like me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Pérez said, her eyes scanning the room for a potential target.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And why’s that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what they say: women love a man in uniform.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Williams chuckled and took another gulp of his drink. “Seriously, would please stop acting like my mother?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzt.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both of the officers tensed and instinctively checked their pockets. Williams, realizing that it wasn’t his own, relaxed again. Pérez, on the other hand, pulled her phone out of her pocket completely and tapped something on the screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s my timer,” she said reluctantly. “If I’m to get a good amount of sleep tonight, I’ll have to get out of here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Punctual even to the point of sleep. Are you sure you’re even human?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely. What else would I be,” Pérez asked as she paid her bill and left a tip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could offer a guess, but you’re in a hurry so I’ll spare you the trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, how considerate,” Pérez said dryly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Pérez finished organizing herself for heading out, she took one last look at where she sat to check for any missed items.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That should do it. Well, it’s been fun. ...Thanks for the company, by the way. Honestly, I feel a lot better now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Williams said nonchalantly. “Just don’t get dependent on it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Pérez said, turning to leave. But before she could take a full step, Williams spoke again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Although, if, on the off chance I’m available when you’re being forced to rest, I wouldn’t mind doing this again. Just give me a call.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez turned and gazed at Williams who still hadn’t turned around to watch her leave. Then, she smirked softly. “You know, you’re surprisingly more caring of others that I thought you were.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t be an officer of the law if I didn’t care even a little bit,” Williams said without turning and taking another drink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez put her hand on her hip and smiled at her interlocutor. Then she shook her head and turned face to leave. “Alright, I’ll see you around then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, see you around.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A cell phone alarm blared as Jory awoke him from his comfortable slumber. Turning over in his bed, he hid his head beneath his pillows, groaning loudly to drown out the alarm’s incessant noise. After a moment, he begrudgingly accepted his fate and moved to finally stop the alarm and prepared himself to get out of bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh...why the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>do they make us wake up so early,” Jory mumbled to himself. “Jesus, the sun’s barely even up yet...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After he finished complaining to himself, Jory got started with his standard morning routine: shave, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, get all of his school stuff together, begin hell. After giving himself a clean shave, he stepped into the warm embrace of a steamy shower. He closed his eyes, starting to lather shampoo into his hair. Soon images of that night came back into his mind: the gleeful, terrifying smile on the Wolfman’s face, all of his friends getting taken out one by one, and the wash of helplessness over his body…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hit his fist against the tiled wall of the shower, breathing shakily with his eyes wide open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I was </span>
  </em>
  <span>completely useless</span>
  <em>
    <span>...I was </span>
  </em>
  <span>right there</span>
  <em>
    <span> and I couldn’t do a </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>fucking </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>thing…!!!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook the thoughts out of his head, quickly turning the shower off, drying off, and dressing himself in his usual T-shirt, shorts and white socks attire as he went down to make breakfast. The pan sizzled as two strips of bacon cooked on the front burner. Jory stared through the food as it fried, his mind drifting off once again. He kept thinking back to that night, over and over again, recollecting the same moments again and again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I couldn’t have done anything else,” he whispered to himself. “Even if the gun </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>jammed, it wouldn’t have done any good. I can’t beat him like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this...</span>
  </em>
  <span>I need power. I need </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>powers. When in the fuck is it gonna be </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>turn? ...If I even get a turn. No—I can’t think like that. That’s EXACTLY what he’d want. I swear I’m going to burn that motherfucker to </span>
  <em>
    <span>ashes</span>
  </em>
  <span> and make him regret </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> fucking with me and my friends!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The continuing high pitched alert broke Jory out of his trance. He looked around in panic to find the source: the smoke detector picked up the fact that his bacon was burning. He cursed, turning the fan on above the stove and waved a small towel in front of the smoke detector as it finally ceased. Jory continued cursing quietly to himself as he reached over the pan to turn down the heat on the stove, only for his arm to be met with a grease splatter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HOT DIGGITY SHIIII….mmmmMMMGH!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory used the same towel from before to wipe the grease from his arm, expecting a searing pain to follow...that never came. After turning the heat off, he looked at the spot the grease hit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck…? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>that splatter hit me. That gets my skin red at the very least. What the hell is…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at the stovetop again, still hot as indicated by the red light on his oven.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna regret this… Fuck it, I’ve done worse things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slowly, hesitantly reached his index finger over the stovetop, feeling the heat from it but not as much as he would normally expect. He winced, closing his eyes as he tapped the stovetop. Nothing. He tapped it a few more times, then placed his whole hand on the top. Nothing still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is this thing even on…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s eyes lit up as a hypothesis formed in his head: he ran his hand underneath the kitchen faucet, gathering cold water on his palm. He then dripped some of it on the stovetop—the liquid instantly fizzing and evaporating on contact. One moment later he placed his wet palm directly on the burner. He heard the sizzling of the water evaporating off of his hand...with no burn left behind! He looked at his hand, staring in amazement, and then the most delighted smile overtook his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have powers…! I have powers! YES! FINA—” Jory stopped himself short, looking around to make sure none of his family members were listening. “Immunity to heat...holy shit, that could be so many awesome things! Oh my God… What if I—am I actually a—?! I think I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> a—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory, curtailing his excitement, caught a glimpse of the kitchen clock: about twenty minutes until his first class. He quickly snapped back to reality, grabbing the burnt bacon off of the pan, getting his backpack and running out the door—pushing himself as fast as he could to tell his friends the incredible news.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Jory got to the final crosswalk, tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for the signal to change. Eventually the light turned and he sprinted for the last stretch of sidewalk to school. At rocket pace he made his way into the school, bumping into a few students along the way and quickly apologizing without stopping. Soon he found his way to the hangout corner behind the library. The first person he saw at location was Josh and as Jory approached him, Josh shot him a funny look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JOSHJOSHJOSH,” Jory huffed excitedly as he fumbled to stop. “IT FINALLY HAPPENED—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened,” a different voice from Josh’s asked Jory from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory froze and turned face to see Ervin and Karl in the alcove behind the outlet to the back doors of the library. Josh </span>
  <em>
    <span>heavily </span>
  </em>
  <span>fought the urge to slam his palm into his face. Karl and Ervin looked on at Jory quizzically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I...uh,” Jory said, stalling for an excuse. “Shoot, give me a second. I got so excited that I think I lost my train of thought.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How that FUCK do you manage THAT,” Karl exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eat dick,” Jory said, pointing at him. Then he posed to ponder to himself. “Let me think… Oh! So I have this friend who lives across the country that I met online. Her name’s Cara. I’ve known her since the end of elementary school, but we’ve never actually met in person. I just got news this morning that I’m finally going to be able to meet her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> really exciting,” Ervin said. “Do you know when yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh, no, not yet. But I do know it’s happening at some point in the next year,” Jory said, turning to Josh. “I know I’ve talked about her before to Josh so I figured I would share the news.” He winked in a way the others couldn’t see. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Noted,” Josh said, nodding as if to affirm the message.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, come to think of it,” Ervin said as Jory positioned himself to see all three of his peers. “I haven’t actually seen you much since school started.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I don’t think we’ve seen you AT ALL now that I think about it,” Karl said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, that’s true. How’ve you been, dude?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, you know how it goes,” Jory said unenthusiastically. “School always starts kinda shit for me—classes are a pain in the ass, getting up early sucks dick through a straw, and having to deal with people I don’t like five times a day, blah blah blah. But it’s actually been going good so far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not too shabby,” Ervin said. “Let’s hope that keeps up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely. ...How about you guys? What’ve you been up to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, nothing really,” Karl said. “There’s not exactly much going on yet, to be honest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ervin said. “It’s basically all just going through the motions with school at the moment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, figures,” a voice said behind Jory. Jory whirled around only to meet the other Ben. “Hi,” the newest Ben to the area said innocently while slightly waving with one hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus dude,” Jory said, getting over his surprise, “we need to put a bell on you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? I’m not your pet,” Ben said disdainfully. “Besides, if anyone needs a warning for their presence, it’s you: I just saw you practically run over someone on my way here. What was that about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha—? Oh! Right. Sorry. I was just so excited I wasn’t thinking straight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What could you possibly be so excited about that—” Ben stopped short when he saw Josh giving him a look from the corner of his eye. “O-Oh! Did it finally happen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory said wholeheartedly. “A long-time dream of mine just came true…” Jory shook the thoughts out of his head. “Anyway, has anyone seen the others? I wanted to go and tell them about the news before first hour started.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” Karl exclaimed. “Everyone is missing!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen anyone else either,” Ervin said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know where Byron is,” Josh said, getting up and preparing to shoulder his backpack. “I can take you to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sweet. Works for me. Ben, you comin’ too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben looked at Karl and Ervin.  “...Actually, I think I’ll stick around here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh shrugged. “Suit yourself. We’ll see you after school. Probably.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, see ya!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Also, good to see you guys again.” Jory said, addressing Karl and Ervin. “We’ll have more chances to talk another time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup, I’ll see you around,” Karl said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Later,” Ervin followed up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh led Jory down the hall and out of sight of the others. Once out of sight, he looked over at Jory and spoke quietly to him with a tinge of annoyance in his tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you know how close you were to fucking it all up for us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>get </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, okay? I’m sorry,” Jory whispered forcefully. “I just got carried away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well could you do your best from now on to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>get carried away?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, okay. Jesus…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When we get to Byron, then you can tell us what you wanna tell us. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Quietly.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few moments earlier, Ben, Ervin and Karl, being left to talk amongst themselves, began to do just that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeez,” Ervin said, “did you see how fast Jory busted in? ...Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that excited about </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl hummed in affirmation. “You’d think he discovered that he had superpowers or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben cringed slightly, trying not to let it show. “...That </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> be something special. Buuut I’m not so sure having superpowers would be something to get excited about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl raised his voice to signal his utter disbelief. “What’re ya talking about, ya pansy?! Having superpowers would be awesome! Think of the possibilities!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d have to agree with Karl on this one,” Ervin said. “Although, I think its usefulness to a specific person would depend on what power you have. Like what if you were paralyzed from the waist down and you got super speed? Kind of a waste at that point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you learn to run with your hands! Like a REAL man!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pfft,” Ben sputtered. “Okay, I mean, sure, we can all imagine how convenient it would be, but couldn’t something like that also just as easily misfire and hurt someone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s true,” Ervin said. “Although, if our fictional representations of it are any indication, then it’s just like any other skill; shouldn’t be too much of an issue if you practice enough and use a controlled environment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Karl confirmed. “And not only that: most superpowers by design don’t have any way to harm the user either. So as long as you master the fundamentals, you’re in the clear!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I...guess that’s true,” Ben said a bit more assuredly. “Although, even assuming that superpowers are possible, if we’re going by the logic of fictional representations then getting them would have to involve some kind of extraordinary event. That’s pretty unlikely given where we live.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> exciting happens around here,” Karl exclaimed. “We might as well rename this place to ‘Snoozeville’!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, actually,” Ervin said, “something </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> happen recently that’s out of the ordinary: just this last weekend it was reported that a number of high schoolers were hanging out at Beverly Park and they ended up being hospitalized. But as far as I can tell, none of the stories list how or why. Did you hear anything about that, Ben?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben tensed up, trying his hardest not to let anything on. “Uhhh—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo yoooo! What’s good?!” a familiar chipper tone cut through the conversation. The others turned to see Brandon waltzing up to them. Ben fought the urge to sigh in relief as Brandon offered him a high five and he took it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sup, dude,” Ervin asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahhh ya know, life ‘n’ stuff—balanced breakfasts and all that. The usual.” Brandon settled into the space as he followed up: “Whatchu guys talkin’ ‘bout?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mysteries and superpowers and shit,” Karl said enthusiastically, to which Ben stifled a nervous laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhm,” Ervin affirmed, “apparently something went down at Beverly Park over the weekend and a bunch of high schoolers were hospitalized. Know anything about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” Brandon said, “I heard about that. But I don’t know any of the details. How about you, Ben? You hear about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Ben said as matter-of-factly as he could, “that’s the first I’ve heard about that being in the news…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, oh well,” Brandon shrugged. “So what’s that got to do with superpowers?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Karl began, “we were talking about how when people get superpowers in fiction something crazy and dangerous usually happens to them. But given how superpowers are impossible, whatever happened was probably just something reckless and stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahhh, I see, I see. Yeah, that makes sense,” Brandon said. “Though, if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> the case, I think going through something like that would be worth it. Havin’ superpowers would be dope, yo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, right!?” Karl looked over at Ben. “See!? You’re the only one who thinks it would suck!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben perked up at this thought and pondered it while the others continued the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Hey, here’s a question,” Ervin said, “if you could</span> <span>have </span><em><span>one</span></em><span> superpower—</span><em><span>any one</span></em><span>—what would it be?”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shiiiit,” Karl said, “that’s such a hard question! There’s so many great options!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, though. It just seems like making a choice on that would be impossible. I’d be like ‘ehhh, what if I pick one and then realize later that something else would be better? This is hard...’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really, bro,” Brandon asked incredulously, “I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> what power I would want: ki manipulation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awwww, of course you’d go for that Dragon Ball bullshit,” Karl exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I dunno,” Ervin said. “That seems a little bit like cheating.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brandon crossed his arms and gave a confident smirk. “Hey, you never said it couldn’t be an </span>
  <em>
    <span>anime</span>
  </em>
  <span> superpower. Besides, all the best superpowers are basically just a bunch of superpowers rolled into one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But that's so lazy,” Karl whined. “You could just be like ‘I want omnipotence’ and then you’re literally God and can do anything! No man should have that much power!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I wouldn’t go for that. Then it’d be too easy. Prolly go to my head too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Ben,” Ervin said, snapping Ben out of his thoughts. “What kind of power would you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’m...actually not sure,” Ben said in realization.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, the five minute bell rang, and students began to maneuver through the halls. The four boys also started to get their stuff together for the beginning of classes, Brandon being first to be ready.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speakin’ of too easy: cooking class is comin’ up. I’ll see y’all later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, ditto,” Ervin said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Same here,” Karl said. “We should all get together this weekend—celebrate getting through the first week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m down for that,” Brandon said, walking backwards for a moment before turning around and waving. “Later, yanks!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben, Karl and Ervin also finished packing up and, after saying their own goodbyes, went their separate ways. Ben eventually reached his first class of the day and sat down in a seat by a window to a courtyard. Pulling out a notebook and a folder, he organized his work space and opened the notebook, the conversation from before still fresh in his mind. Then he wrote: “what kind of superpower </span>
  <span>do</span>
  <span> I want?” in the margins of the page. After tapping the pencil on the page a few times, Ben started doodling after the prompt, a faint smile developing as he did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Be Continued...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Event Horizon - Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Event Horizon - Part 2</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Drew’s car pulled into Josh’s driveway. After the engine hushed to a stop, its owner and Josh calmly got out of the front doors. Quickly after, one of the back doors flung open and Jory excitedly shot out of his seat, throwing the door shut behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YES! FINALLY! IT’S FINALLY TIME,” Jory screamed before outright squeeing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on about that,” Josh asked spitefully. “I thought I made it clear to stop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HOW CAN I?! This is LITERALLY the BEST thing that’s EVER happened to me, and I waited a WHOLE </span>
  <em>
    <span>FUCKING</span>
  </em>
  <span> SCHOOL DAY for this, Josh! Do you know how </span>
  <em>
    <span>HARD</span>
  </em>
  <span> that was?!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About as hard as it’s been about the last decade of your life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly! It’s hell!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh gave Jory an irate stare. “Alright, well if you won’t do so because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked</span>
  </em>
  <span> you to, how about you stop because someone might be listening?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think we’ll have to worry about that right now,” Drew said, staring off down the driveway. “They ain’t here today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory turned to look at the usual spot; just as Drew said, there was nothing to be seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh, I suppose they aren’t,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I noticed this,” Josh said. “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still spying on us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly,” Drew began, “I’m a little bummed that the coppers aren’t here. Highlight of having to drive you guys around so far has been messin’ with ‘em.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where do you think they went,” Jory asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prolly got bored,” Drew said while stretching. “Or maybe they went on lunch break.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At three in the afternoon,” Josh asked incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t the stereotype that they’re corrupt and fat,” Drew asked playfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Hey,” Jory said in a mischievous tone, “what if we park in the spot they’re usually in? That’d piss ‘em off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hah! That’s so petty, Jory,” Drew said, shaking his head in disappointment, “truly it is. ...Count me in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, let’s not,” Josh said scathingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are they gonna do,” Drew asked cockily, “knock on the door to tell us to move it? I bet they’re still trying to act like we’re not on to them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Or</span>
  </em>
  <span> they could write you a ticket because that’s not a legal parking zone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Drew said disappointedly. “Forgot: they’re the police.” He smiled deviously. “...Nothing’s stopping me from peeing there, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh relax, I’m just kidding! Mostly. Slightly. Ah, I'll do it in the dark.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh let out a heavy sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So are we just gonna stand around here, or are we going to get started,” Jory asked impatiently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t,” Josh said. “Byron wouldn’t want to miss that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of Byron, where the fuck is he? He’s usually up our asses for not being late for stuff like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riding with Charlie,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d you know that,” Jory asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘Cause Charlie’s car is pulling around that corner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh and Jory turned in the direction Drew was pointing, Charlie’s car pulling into Josh’s driveway beside Drew’s. Once stopped, Ben, Byron, and Charlie each stepped out (with a range of expressions from Ben’s reluctance to Charlie’s happy-go-lucky smile), the others moving to meet them. Jory offered Charlie a high-five, the latter hulking over with a silly walk to take it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sup, man,” Jory asked coolly. “I didn’t know you and Ben’d be coming so soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprise,” Charlie hollered, putting his hands up slightly in celebration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting,” Byron said, slinging his backpack over his other shoulder. “I went to make sure Charlie was coming and then we both went to fetch Ben.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We kidnapped him,” Charlie said with chipper pride with a Superman pose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to rub it in,” Ben mumbled disdainfully to himself. “Also, couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t like ducking on my folks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s the problem,” Jory asked indignantly. “It’s Friday!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew held back a chuckle. “Yeah, you gotta get down.” (Jory wagged a finger in his direction. “You had better shut your face.”)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Josh said, “now that we’re all here, can we relocate? I would prefer </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>loitering around in my own front yard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Charlie said enthusiastically, “let’s make some magiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic!” (He said this like a sports announcer.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YEEEEEEEEEES,” Jory exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and taking the lead toward the backyard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron smiled slightly and rolled his eyes at Jory’s overexcitement as they headed off. “So I see our </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> aren’t here today,” he said dryly, taking a side glance at the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Drew said, “we figure they pussied out. Can’t blame ‘em, no mortal man can take too much of </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> awesome.” (He said that, pointing his thumb toward himself indulgently.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or they’re changing strategies since they know we’re on to them,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A more likely theory,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory turned to face the others while walking backwards. “Oh, who gives a shit?! Once we get our powers up and running they won’t be able to do a damn thing to us anyway!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are SO many reasons why that will not work out,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Such as?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Using them against the police outright would get us caught up with the Feds, Jory,” Byron said. “We’ve been over this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, whatever. Let ‘em come. We’ll kick their asses too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others glossed over Jory’s argument and finally stopped once they got halfway behind the house in an open section between the garden and the pool. They took off their school gear and placed it in a clump, then settled in by circling up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So before we start,” Josh said (“Oh, come on,” Jory cried), “is Charlie all caught up with everything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eyup,” Charlie said happily. “I’m aaall gooood.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or at least with all the important bits,” Byron said. “Seriously, Charlie, you’re going to need to do something about your absence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t worry,” Charlie said. “I finished what I was working on, so now I’m free to help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of which,” Drew said, “where’ve ya been? Lately, you’ve been harder to find than a leprechaun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m very glad you asked that because, you see, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I HAVE REALIZED MY DESTINY!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” (He said this while making an emphatic, religious-seeming movement with his hands.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to say something silly like world domination, are you,” Byron asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Oh, yes, absolutely that. Who are you kidding? But more importantly, I have realized my one true calling...</span><em><span>BECOMING THE WORLD’S </span></em><b><em>GREATEST</em></b><em><span> VENTRILOQUIST! BEHOOOLD!</span></em><span>”</span> <span>Charlie reached into his back pocket and pulled out...a sock. A literal sock. </span><em><span>Just </span></em><span>a sock. Charlie put the sock over his left hand and then covered his mouth with his right. Then he started speaking in a Mickey Mouse falsetto, moving the sock’s “mouth” in sync. (A/N: He does this every time the sock talks from now on.)</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, slaves! I am your new Master! Mwahahahahaaaaa! Ha.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group stared at this development at a loss of what to say. Finally, Drew broke the silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie...may I ask what exactly brought this on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, this? This is the sock that you’re destined to eat. His name is George. See, I gave him a personality so that when you have to eat him it’ll be that much more disturbing.” (Charlie had the sock puppet look at him while he was talking, then look at the others to nod after he finished.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew stood there for a second, slightly stunned as everyone else gave mixed reactions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my fucking God,” Jory deadpanned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck is this about,” Josh asked worriedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben ran his hand down his face. “Long story.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” George asked, looking to Jory. “How did you know I was the God of fucking?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some of the group chuckled at the joke. Josh only glared at him. “You are actually terrible at this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but you see Jesh-you-ehh,” Charlie said, “I do believe that what makes a ventriloquist truly great is whether or not you can see their mouth moving. And I don’t believe it’s possible for you to see my mouth moving. Therefore, I must be the greatest ventriloquist who’s ever lived!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh dear…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie,” Byron began, “are you seriously trying to tell us right now that you took three days out of major contact to prepare a regular sock?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Charlie said, “the brainstorming process took at least two. The surgery took the last.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What surgery,” Jory asked in bewilderment. “It’s just a normal sock!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, and the decision to forgo the surgery took the entire day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory stared at him in utter disbelief. Drew chucked to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t rush perfection, Jory,” Charlie said sternly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, so why couldn’t we just do this tomorrow,” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because we’re not going for perfect,” Byron said, “we’re going for usable. ...And if my count is right, we still have five more powers to get online.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! That’s right,” Jory exclaimed, swinging around to face Byron. “You have yours working, don’t you?! Show it to me! Show it to me! I still haven’t seen it yet!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as I want to see it as well, I’m still worried,” Ben said. “I mean what if we get discovered? We don’t know what they’re up to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So long as we don’t stir up a noise complaint,” Byron said, readying himself to turn on his power, “they can’t really do much of anything. Hell, even if they planted a bug, that would be unactionable under the law. And I highly doubt local police have long range audio surveillance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See,” Jory said, making a confident motion. “Don’t be such a basket case, Ben.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>used to carrying in this group~,” Ben replied, making a snooty gesture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooo,” Josh and Drew cooed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Alright, enough of that,” Byron said, striking a pose, covering his left eye. “Or, if not, maybe I’ll just have to </span><em><span>make</span></em><span> you with </span><em><span>this</span></em><span>.”</span> <span>Byron took a short breath and moved his hand away as he opened his eye, unveiling the Geass symbol. Jory and Ben both stared agasp at the glow.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s so freaking cool,” Jory said, his eyes shining with delight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, probly woulda been cooler without the pause,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Regardless,” Ben said, “seeing stuff like this is still really remarkable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So how’d you get it to work,” Charlie asked. “I imagine it wasn’t as easy as being like, ‘Magic Eyeball, Go!’ or whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s sort of a symbolic thing, I guess,” Byron said, putting his hand in front of the eye. “Whenever I want to turn it on or off, all I do is clearly imagine myself flipping a light switch in my mind and it does it.” He closed his eyes and took a breath again, moving his hand and opening his eyes to show that his power had turned off. “Like so,” he said with a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“....Um,” Jory said as if to call for something more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I can’t exactly explain why that does it. This is new territory for all of us. But, if I had to guess, I would say that since a superpower is a nonphysical part of me, then I’d have to find some kind of metaphysical way to invoke it. A clear mental representation like a metaphor might just so happen to fit the bill. That was the logic behind that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“....Right,” Josh said skeptically, “well, I don’t think that’s how it works, but whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron shrugged. “Suit yourself. At the moment, </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> method is the only thing that allows for controlled use. If we can replicate the results, that’s all that matters. And that’s what we’re gonna try today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That last phrase opened the floodgates to Jory’s excitement. Rushing forward and hopping up and down a little bit, he signalled to the others. “ME! Let’s go! Let’s do this shit! Dibs! First! Me me me me me me me m-!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright,” Byron said, motioning him to calm down, “you can go first. Besides, demonstrating it with a fresh case would build a powerful proof of concept.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YES,” Jory outright screamed, contorting his body from his excitement. “Okay, okay...what do I have to do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah,” Drew said, “slow down there. We have to figure out what you’ve got first, remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, why don’t you tell us what exactly happened that had you all excited this morning,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Jory said, “I haven’t told some of you. Okay, so I was making bacon for breakfast this morning but got distracted and accidentally burned it, so when I tried to turn the stove down, grease splattered on my arm. Normally that hurts like hell but, like...this time it didn’t. I tested around a bit, even put my whole hand on the burner on high, and I couldn’t feel a thing!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dang, man,” Charlie said. “Maybe you could go work at Benihana?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not a bad idea,” Jory said, rubbing his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Except he burned the food he was cooking,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And maybe I’ll burn a dick and make you eat it too,” Jory said aggressively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Ben cut in, “...was there anything else?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Drew said with a sly grin, “have you burned anything besides your breakfast?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, I wish,” Jory said, drooping his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then what were you so excited about,” Byron asked, thinning his eyes and shaking his head in confusion. “Literally, your power could be nothing more than that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way! You and Josh both have anime powers! I’ve been thinking about what I would want </span>
</p><p>
  <span>if that were the case for a while, and now that this has happened, I’m convinced it can’t be anything else: I have Fire Dragon Slaying—from Fairy Tail! It’s my favorite show!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory,” Byron said lecturely, “I get that you’re excited, but even if we </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> only have anime powers, the odds of you getting the one specific power you’ve always wanted are close to zero.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But the burning immunity—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh interjected: “There’s hundreds upon hundreds of fire powers in fictional universes—most of which offer resistance or complete immunity to burning. Kinda comes with the territory.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m telling you, it’s Fire Dragon Slaying! I can’t explain it, but I can feel it, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not to be ‘that guy’,” Ben said, “but that could also just be your hope and adrenaline...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, if there’s a way to test for it, I’ll do whatever it takes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Byron put his hand on his chin. “Hmm...as far as I know, the one thing that a Fire Dragon Slayer can</span> <span>do that </span><em><span>no</span></em><span> other fire power I know of can is to eat fire.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They can,” Drew asked in surprise. “What’s that do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the show it’s supposed to replenish your magic and give you a second wind. In real life, I don’t know. But if Jory really does have Fire Dragon Slaying, then that’s the only way I can think of to test it. At the very least we can eliminate it from consideration if it’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahh, I see,” Drew said with a smirk. “Alright, Jory, let’s see it: eat some flames for us. I’ll be watching...</span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> closely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory looked at Byron with a bit of panic. “Uh...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie smirked evilly. “What’s the problem, Joreh. I thought you'd do whatever it takes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, don’t be such a pussy,” Drew said in similar fashion. “If you’ve already proven you can’t be burned, what’s the problem?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory breathed in to calm himself down. “Okay, yeah, I can do this. I’ll be fine. ...Wait, do we even have any fire for me to try this with?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno...do we,” Byron asked worriedly, looking at Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give me a bit,” Josh said reluctantly, taking steps toward his house.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Covered in the shade of trees, a van sat in the turnaround loop not far from Josh’s house. The inside was lit well enough to see clearly and a familiar police woman stood up from behind another person sitting with their eyes glued to a computer monitor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Preliminary set up complete,” Officer Pérez said, pressing her hand to her headset. “Now all we need is the gear we’ve asked for and our mobile command and monitoring station can be fully operational.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good work, Pérez,” Agent Smith said through the headset. He stood behind another set of people at monitor screens, this time in what looked to be his office building. “So? How does it feel being back in the field?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know as well as I do that this isn’t what I meant,” Pérez said, putting her hand on the back of another chair. “But I guess it’s better than nothing… How much longer on the equipment clearance, by the way? It’d be nice to get sound and satellite working as soon as possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Going as fast as I can, Pérez. Unfortunately, you aren’t the only one with difficult</span> <span>superiors...” Immediately after saying this, a tone rang from Agent Smith’s belt and he looked down to check the contact. “Speaking of which, I’m going to have to take this. Standby.” He then moved to exit the room.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roger that.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Finally, Josh had returned with a lighter in hand. The group had since relaxed a bit in the yard. Byron and Ben were busy tearing a bunch of paper from a notebook while Drew and Charlie were coaching Jory to psych him up. Upon seeing Josh approaching, they quickly set up, giving Jory a small roll of paper and the lighter, then all crowded around to watch the event. Jory looked down at the device in his hand and the paper in his other. He got ready to light the paper, but paused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Josh said unenthusiastically, “go ahead, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Jory paused, “I mean, I don’t...I don’t really know what to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew smirked. “We could light it up and shove it down your throat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m gonna pass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Symbolic representation, Jory, that’s what we’re testing,” Byron said. “When you think of eating fire, what would you liken that to? Imagine that clearly and then try to eat it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory frowned. “Well...I guess I’d…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Racking his brain for a second, Jory’s imagination wandered to how he would get water from a pool; he would cup some in his hands and drink it in. Jory clicked the lighter on and carefully lit the tip of the pages. The fire caught and very slowly began to spread. Jory brought the fire toward his mouth slowly (Ben taking a few steps forward in concern but was stopped when he hit Charlie’s sock puppet, which signalled for him not to interfere without Charlie turning). Jory swallowed nervously, pushing past his instincts to wave the fire out, and brought it toward his face while puckering his lips. As he moved in closer, the flames got larger and he shut his eyes tight, the lack of heat near his face unnerving him to the point that he wanted to scream. Then the image of Wolfman’s evil grin popped into his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t beat him unless I break past my fears. I have to beat him. I </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>have </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without another moment, Jory brought his mouth to the page and the others watched in wonder as he ‘drank’ the flames from the paper. He finished it all off, opening his eyes and looked at the roll: it was charred black and more than half-way gone, but the fire was nowhere in sight. He looked around at the other’s faces, realized they saw something amazing, then looked at his hands and checked his mouth with his tongue—no burns, but a strange taste filled his mouth and...a fuzzy feeling grew in his stomach. Jory’s hands started shaking and soon he exploded in joy, pumping his fists and yelling in celebration while throwing the remains of the papers into the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YEEEEAHHHH! WOOOO! I DID IT! Byron, I did it! I fucking did it!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So much for being quiet,” Ben said in defeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not bad, champ,” Drew said. “I could see that was pretty scary for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What,” Jory asked incredulously, halting his festivities. “No! I just—eating fire isn’t exactly an everyday thing for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, regardless,” Byron said, “that basically confirms it. Congrats, Jory: you’ve got Fire Dragon Slaying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fitting that you say it like it’s some kind of disease,” Josh said bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re just jealous cuz I WAS RIGHT,” Jory shot back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Meh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew giggled a bit. “So Josh is a dragon and Jory is a dragon </span>
  <em>
    <span>slayer</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Does anyone else find it funny how their powers are polar opposites and completely opposed?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, kinda like they are,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, wait,” Ben said. “Can we also just appreciate that Jory got a superpower from his favorite anime series? That seems a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>convenient, doesn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Neither did I, technically,” Byron said. “But the fact that it’s also an anime power is making that look less like chance by the day. But then why only </span>
  <em>
    <span>anime</span>
  </em>
  <span> powers? That’s just so weird...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHO CARES,” Jory interjected. “I can’t fucking believe it—I really </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>just like Natsu! Do you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>what I’m gonna do with these powers?! This is the opportunity of a fuckin’ lifetime!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean what you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to do,” Byron said disdainfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been over this, Jory. That’s final.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmph...fine. Ugh,” he said before burping slightly. “Oof, that definitely tastes weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah,” Charlie sang, “what’s it taste like, Joreh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh...you know when it's, like, a winter night, and you can smell someone doing a campfire? Like the smell of burning leaves or whatever? It’s kinda like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds disgusting,” Josh said unfeelingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory took some more pages and prepared to light them up. “It’s actually not bad. It tastes...nostalgic.” He offered the items to Josh who backed up. “Wanna try some?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely fucking not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory turned to Byron. “So, what do I do now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron pointed to himself and the others. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We </span>
  </em>
  <span>are going to start focusing on Josh’s powers next. Jory, while we’re doing that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> are going to eat fire until you physically cannot eat fire anymore. And you’re going to do this for a week straight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha—a week?! Why?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re going to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> stronger </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> quickly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I thought the eating fire thing was just used to replenish magic,” Ben said with a quizzative gesture, Jory nodding along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Usually, yes,” Byron said. “But who says we have to follow </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>? If we’re going by the laws of the show, then increasing his magical capacity should be as simple as generating more of it than he can hold, expending it, and then doing that all over again. Likewise, as far as I remember, there is no upper limit to the amount of magic he can gain from eating fire so this is just going to give him an absurd amount of magic to draw on in a pinch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think of it this way,” Drew said to Jory, “we’re gonna supercharge you like how Ash supercharged Pikachu.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh said, “we’re going to strap you to the waterwheel that is fire.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh...yeah,” Jory said, “I guess that makes sense.” He then grabbed the papers and lighter, sitting down on the patio by the pool a short ways away from the others and getting comfortable. Finally, he rubbed his hands together with anticipation. “Chow time!” And at that he lit some papers and began to eat some more. “Aw man, guys, this is some </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot </span>
  </em>
  <span>stuff!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Jory continued to devour the flames, the others turned to Josh. Drew clicked his tongue. “So...that seemed to work out pretty well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I’d say that was a rousing success,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it could’ve used more explosions,” George said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ho ho ho,” Charlie huffed haughty. “Silly George. You don’t have eyes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In any case,” Ben began, “does this mean we’ve figured it out? That seemed a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> simple.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Byron said. “But there’s only one more way to find out: all in favor of testing the representation theory with Josh?” Byron raised his hand. Everyone but Josh did too as they looked in his direction. (Charlie raised George into the air before pushing him down with his other hand, then raised that hand instead.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m not really down for that,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Okaaay? Why? Didn’t we just show evidence that it works?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because I can’t think of anything? I don’t know what kind of mental image I’d have to make myself do that. It doesn’t make sense to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It can’t be that hard, can it,” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way. Just look at Jory,” Drew said, shoving a thumb in his direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory said excitedly, holding some fire in front of his face with a thumb’s up. “I’m all </span>
  <em>
    <span>fired</span>
  </em>
  <span> up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh glared sideways at Jory. “I swear to God I will come over there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Hey, don’t get </span><em><span>heated</span></em> <span>at me!”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ignore him,” Byron said unenthusiastically. “But seriously, you can’t think of anything? All we’re asking is to just try it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t try it if I don’t have an image to use,” Josh said irritably, “and if I could think of one I’d already be trying it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I suppose that’s out the window then,” Byron said disappointedly. “I dunno, the only other thing I can think of is trying to manufacture the transformation again. We already proved we can get you </span>
  <em>
    <span>out </span>
  </em>
  <span>of being a dragon, so maybe there’s a way to get you back </span>
  <em>
    <span>into </span>
  </em>
  <span>being one too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Right, I’d been meaning to ask about that,” Ben said hesitantly. “How did you guys get Josh to turn back to normal? I tried asking Drew but he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. (Jerk.)”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Drew cut in, “it’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault that I wanted to go one day without you being a Worried Wilma—cut me a break. ‘Sides, Byron can explain it better anyway...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We basically just shocked him into it,” Byron said. “Since the whole bathtub incident, Josh hasn’t wanted to go anywhere near sitting water.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For good reason,” Josh interrupted. “So then these two dipshits got the bright idea to shove me into the fucking pool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to push you in,” Drew said nonchalantly. “It just kinda worked out that way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Byron said. “I already told you that was an accident.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> work, right,” Charlie asked, scratching his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Worked like a charm,” Drew said, giving Charlie a thumbs up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> work. But we’re not doing it again,” Josh said sternly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like someone’s complaining that I saved their ass. So maaaybe you should just shut your face, before I stick Charlie’s sock in it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>George shook in fury. “Nooooo! I am reserved for one face and one face only! It is my purpose! It is my destiny! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fate</span>
  </em>
  <span> has foretold it! It is decreeeeeed!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on a moment,” Ben said. “Does anyone else see the glaring flaw with this strategy? I mean, we can’t exactly rely on having sitting water around to change him back </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Byron said, “but our only other safe method for using his powers remotely has been vetoed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about other unsafe methods,” Charlie asked happily. (“Of course you’d go there,” Ben said quietly with a facepalm. “Gotta hand it to him: he sticks with it,” Drew said with a grin.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron put his hand to his chin. “I suppose there’s always the option to try a Geass order on him. ...And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> due for a test run since I haven’t actually used it on anything yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, that thing,” Drew said. “...Didn’t you say that you’d only get one shot at that and it could mess him up forever?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That...doesn’t sound good,” Ben said worriedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it’s not like it’s off the table,” Byron mused. “Last time I didn’t want to try it because I wasn’t prepared on such short notice. But now that I’ve had time to think, it may not be as much of a risk as I first thought.” Byron turned to Josh. “What you say, Josh? Will you be my first guinea pig?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh took a moment to ponder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All I would say is ‘control your superpower’s transformation’. No ambiguities, nothing to interpret, no room for error. That good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh nodded slowly, but continued to think silently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, stop ‘dragon’ your feet or you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>fired</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jory hollered after eating some more fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Less</span>
  </em>
  <span> talking, </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> eating,” Byron scolded with extra pronunciation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright,” Jory said, sucking in a bit more fire. (He burped quietly. “Eugh, it’s practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning </span>
  </em>
  <span>my tastebuds…)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron turned back to Josh. “So? Do we have an agreement?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh continued to think to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no sense in having a weapon you can’t use. And if we’re going to be going up against people like the ones we met in the forest, we’re going to need every advantage we can get.</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh looked down, pondering one last time, then looked up with determination written on his face. “Alright, let’s try it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You sure you wanna do this, man,” Drew asked nonchalauntly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you’ve got any better ideas, I would really like to hear them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie and George exchanged glances. “George? Any ideas?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Feed me a cracker,” the sock yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a no,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben shrugged. “I’ve got nothing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh sighed. “Well, you heard the sock, Byron. Better now than never.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Byron said, pointing behind him. “Make some room, everyone. Don’t want any accidents.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three onlookers moved behind Byron (between him and Jory) to give him a clear line of sight to Josh, the two standing several feet apart. After everyone settled in to spectate (including George whom Charlie had roost on Drew’s shoulder), Byron activated his Geass in usual fashion then covered his eye with his hand. “Look directly into my eyes and don’t break eye contact. I’m going to try to use it on the count of three. ...Ready? One!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re getting sleeeeeepy,” George whispered as he inched nearer to Drew’s mouth. “Very sleeeeeepyyyyyyy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie,” Ben said as Drew pushed the sock away (“Two!”). “I thought you said you were a ventriloquist, not a hypnotist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am the world’s greatest ventriloquist. </span>
  <em>
    <span>George</span>
  </em>
  <span> is the world’s worst hypnotist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“THREE,” Byron yelled as forcefully as he could. He then swung his hand out, letting the light shine from his eye. “Josh, I command you: control your superpower’s transformation!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bird-like symbol in Byron’s eye “flapped its wings” as a red light emanated from his eye toward Josh. Josh blinked a few times after being hit by the beam, also rubbing his eyes from the lack of hydration. A moment later he looked down at his hands and inspected his body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did it,” Ben stammered, “did it work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh walked slowly toward the others. “I don’t feel any different.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Byron said. “Maybe my powers </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> actually have the same specs as the show… Eugh, scary thought. ...I swear it activated though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It definitely did,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oy, try and transform again,” Charlie said, George nodding vigorously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How,” Josh replied peevishly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Drew said while stretching by putting his arms behind his head. “Just think ‘I want to transform’ or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instantly after saying that, Josh’s body expanded in a flurry of wings and scales. The others jumped back to avoid being pushed away and the creature hissed as if to curse. The crew steadied themselves from the surprise (besides Jory, of course, who merely glanced in the direction then continued eating) and soon silence returned to the lawn. Gazing at the group, Josh in dragon form stumbled to get better footing, then laid down to stay as still as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is Godzillaaaaaa,” Charlie yelled excitedly, throwing his hands in the air and running toward Josh. As he playfully inspected Josh’s lizardly frame, the others positioned themselves to better converse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welp, safe to say: it worked,” Byron said. “So how do you feel, Josh? Any different from the last time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh just gave Byron a look as if to say, “really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, right. Can’t talk. ...I keep forgetting that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew shrugged. “I still think it’s kinda lame how he can’t talk while he’s like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but this shouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>as</span>
  </em>
  <span> much of an issue now, right?” Byron raised his eyebrows, signalling Josh to attempt to change back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh raised his head and then stayed perfectly still for a moment, quickly shrinking down back into his original form a moment later. He stumbled a bit, readjusting from being on all fours and finally stood upright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oof,” Ben cringed airily, “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re telling me,” Josh said, still getting his wits about him. As he stretched and inspected his body to make sure nothing went wrong in his transformation back, he continued: “It’s strange though...I remember reading somewhere that dragons can speak telepathically.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Byron hummed, “I mean, up until now, dragons didn’t really exist as far as we knew, so it’s probably safe to say a lot of that information is bogus.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie walked up behind Josh and patted him on the back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hard.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So Josh, George was wondering: as a dragon, can you unhinge your jaw like a snake?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno,” Josh said glaring at him sideways. “Why don’t I eat you and we’ll see?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben frowned. “That’s a kinda passive aggressive way to say, ‘no’...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m a kinda passive-aggressive person.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aaaanyway,” Byron said, “with that, Josh should have complete mental control of his transformation without any training.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Aw, no fair,”</span> <span>Jory wailed, lowering his fire-making supplies. “</span><em><span>He</span></em><span> gets a superpowered fast-track and </span><em><span>I</span></em><span> have to work for it?!”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, you’re already </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span> the fast track. Besides, what do you want me to do? Order you to use the magic reserves you don’t even have yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I’m fuckin’ stuffed...and I’m already bored of eating fire...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you can still complain, you haven’t eaten enough. Just keep eating. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory groaned in dissatisfaction, then picked up his supplies again. “This looked way cooler than it feels…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron turned to the others. “And with that, it’s three down, three to go! Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh began, looking at the three remaining test subjects, “too bad we’ve exhausted all of our potential leads so far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually,” Drew said, “I don’t think we’ve asked Charlie about this yet. How about it: felt any differently lately?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm” Charlie mused, putting his hand to his chin. “I don’t think I’ve felt any different than normal. Although my sock hand seems to have the distinct feeling that it wants to enter Drew’s mouth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmk. Dunno why I expected something different...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of leads,” Ben said, “whatever happened to that picture with the riddle on it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s right,” Byron said, smacking his forehead, “I almost forgot!” He quickly went for his backpack and fished the picture out of a case he stowed away on an outside pocket. All but Jory gathered around to take a look at it again, Byron turning it over and showing off the message to the others. “I managed to crack the code! It took some doing but I did it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope that didn’t involve sacrificing more sleep,” Josh said disdainfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I slept really well. Helps to not have anything on your mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s great,” George said, looking at the picture. He then looked up at Byron. “What the hell does it say?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So at first I wasn't sure what all the letters and numbers meant, but when Josh said that the picture was old, it finally made sense: when she said we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>date</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, she meant a </span>
  <em>
    <span>time</span>
  </em>
  <span>. From there it was a piece of cake: see, if you exchange the letters with the number that letter corresponds to in chronological order for the alphabet, and then treat each of these as a mathematical expression and simplify, you get six numbers: 179131. But THEN if you take that and reverse it, you can turn it into a </span>
  <em>
    <span>date</span>
  </em>
  <span>: one dash three dash one, nine, seven, one. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This picture</span>
  </em>
  <span> was taken on </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> January third, nineteen-seventy-one."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh said awkwardly. “That seems to be a bit of a leap...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there anything more that confirms that,” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it checks out,” Byron said. “Research told me that black and white photos were still around even in the early seventies. In fact, it’s right on the cusp of them being phased out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Drew said in sudden realization. “So you’re telling me that the whole ‘date me’ thing was actually code-speak and not an opportunity to suck face?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Byron deadpanned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Man, can’t catch a break today...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Drew,” George said. “I’ll be your rebound. Here, give Georgey a kissy kiss~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s going to make eating you a hell of a lot more awkward than it already would be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All the better!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up yours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already got an ENTIRE HAND up mine! I don’t have any room!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uuuugh,” Jory moaned. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group turned to see Jory on the ground facing up to the sky. He burped loudly and groaned a bit. In a bit of panic, the group ran over to him and propped him up to talk with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay,” Ben asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obviously not,” Josh said scathingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron leaned in to make sure Jory could see him. “How are you feeling?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know that feeling,” Jory began, “where you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted something, and then you get it, and then you don’t even know why you wanted it in the first place? Yeah. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did say you only had to go until you couldn’t eat anymore. Consider your job complete for today. Let a whole day pass, and we’ll have you try to produce some fire. Sound good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew offered Jory a hand. “Let’s get you up, champ.” Jory took it and pulled himself to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what’s this,” Jory started before belching loudly, “yuck… What’s this about a date? Nineteen-seventeen something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“January third, nineteen-seventy-one,” Byron corrected. “If my decoding was right, that’s the date this picture was taken. It also means that whoever this chick is has been in our universe for at least forty years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oy,” Charlie began, “how come she doesn’t look like she’s almost as old as our parents?” (Drew’s eyes lit up at this thought and he cringed. “Might’ve dodged a bullet there…”)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The power that she has can grant eternal youth. So I guess that means she’s been immortal for at least that long too. Fascinating...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about the date itself,” Josh asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dunno. But I think we can all agree that it must be important somehow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s,” Jory began. “That’s it? All of this for something we can’t even use?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She wouldn’t just give us a random date that means nothing to us...would she,” Josh asked cautiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew scratched the back of his head. “Maybe it’s the date of some kind of world event or something, like a war.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what does that have to do with us,” Charlie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Ben said, his eyes narrowing. “Byron, do you remember when we were on the hill and she called out to us for the first time? Didn’t she say something about her coming to meet us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Byron said. “She said ‘I’ve arrived, promised ones’. What about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, call me crazy, but what if this date has something to do with the reason she sought us out specifically?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group glanced at each other uncomfortably, silently allowing the idea to take hold. Josh was the first to speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But isn’t this date well before any of us were born? How could that possibly have any connection to us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron addressed the group. “Can anyone think of anything that she might be alluding to for that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scanning the group, they all shook their heads, “no.” Byron held up the photo a little bit more, the remainder of the group as well staring at the photo of the mysterious girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Just what are you trying to tell us?”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Yes, our connection is secure,” the familiar voice of Agent Smith said, alone in a dark room with a phone to his ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it doesn’t seem like she’s caught on yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’ll be monitoring her closely.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, we haven’t started prepping for contact with their associates. But as soon as we’ve secured our position in the force, they’ll be our next angle. With any luck, they’ll be a bit like the boys so far. Who knows: they may turn out to be a great asset to us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes… Yes... No, nothing else to report. Everything is going as planned. Just a little longer and the entire task force will be under our thumbs...”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>In a dark room the figure of a man sat with his hands folded over a table, the figure of a woman leaning on the side of his chair. “All members are now accounted for. I want answers. Where is she?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nowhere to be found,” the radio-static-imbued and disembodied voice of a young man said lifelessly. “What a bother… I don’t even feel anger or disappointment…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s as he said,” another staticky voice followed up, this time a woman, “she’s disappeared—not a single trace left.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any potential leads,” the man asked, unamused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None,” the young man’s voice said airily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll keep looking,” the woman’s voice continued, “but neither of us can promise anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Technically, we do have one lead,” a man’s voice said this time (also distorted).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The boys,” the first man asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s right,” a third man’s voice said (again, distorted).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you’re wondering,” another woman’s voice cut through the static, “we’ve had units in place for containment measures over forty-eight hours ago. We can extract them at any time for interrogation. Just give the word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” the first man said behind his folded hands. “I have a better idea...” As he spoke, he looked at each person of the group, following their number, their entire bodies besides their eyes cloaked in shadow, a slight rainbow pattern like oil on water stretching their whole lengths, and the contours of their frames distorting slightly every so often (sure signs of their presence there being holograms). “Orders will be issued on what to do with them after I finalize the exact procedure in deliberation with Second. For now, Third will take over the trail of Subject 0 as she is, as of this point, no longer a member of this organization. Fourth will take over the case with her new contacts as a potential instance of our Internal Affairs investigation. First and Fifth will prioritize the recovery and continued use of our other missing assets. All of this is to be in effect in no more than twelve hours. And I don’t expect any mishaps this time, is that understood?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Chairman,” all of the others said at once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Let the games begin…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Be Continued...</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. First Hand, All-In - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>First Hand, All-In - Part 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Byron said, “now that we’re all settled in, how about we review our situation thus far?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group sat around in Josh’s basement, either on the floor or on the large couches populating the living room, all in view of one another. Some of them had a can of soda in hand, courtesy of Josh who was just making his way back to his own seat after closing the last of the window blinds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After he was finally seated, Byron continued: “I think it’s safe to say that a lot has happened since the events in the forest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeesh,” Ben cringed. “Seriously...I can’t believe it’s only been a day over a week since then… </span>
  <em>
    <span>A week!</span>
  </em>
  <span> It feels more like it was yesterday or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory leaned back and scratched his head as he replied. “I think what’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> unbelievable is that we </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>have ANIME SUPERPOWERS! I literally had to double-check this morning that this wasn’t all a dream. Nope, my life-long fantasy is </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> absolutely happening. And it feels...soooo goooooooooood!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Joreh,” Charlie said in a deep, lecture-like tone. “I’mma have to ask you to not get your jizz all over Josh’s carpet. Not sure anyone else would wanna see that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, please,” Josh said before quickly changing the subject (Jory just shot them both a bitter look). “Personally, though, I think it’s more unbelievable that we got wrapped up in all of this to begin with.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, man,” Drew said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I’m not complaining about prospective superpowers or anything—but I could do without all the added secret-y stuff. Even the chick who gave ‘em to us is super shady.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but look on the bright side, Drew,” Charlie exclaimed with silly zest, “now we can put on the veneer of being normal and actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew almost spit out his drink that he had just attempted to take a swig of. “Says the guy who literally spent </span>
  <em>
    <span>three days </span>
  </em>
  <span>making a sock puppet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Says the chump who has to </span><em><span>eat</span></em> <em><span>it</span></em><span>.” (Charlie shot him some finger guns on the emphasis.)</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I bet you know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> what it’s like to ‘eat it’.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Byron cleared his throat to interrupt them. “</span><em><span>Anyway</span></em><span>,</span> <span>let’s get back on track. What concerns me most is what the hell she wants with us to begin with. That’s the big mystery here; there’s no obvious reason to give a bunch of high schoolers such deadly weapons. What’s more, even in the forest situation, she held all the cards. Originally, she just wanted me, until I convinced her otherwise. I really had no ground to stand on when it came to bargaining, but, for whatever reason, she took it anyway.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Josh said, “when you put it that way it even </span>
  <em>
    <span>sounds</span>
  </em>
  <span> like the start to an anime...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Add that to the whole ‘promised ones’ bit that she led with and </span>
  <em>
    <span>then</span>
  </em>
  <span> going out of her way to give us a photo of herself, establishing contact again, and it’s starting to look like she was gunning for cooperation with some or all of us from the get-go. I’m just not sure what for…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, about that,” Ben said. “Would that technically even matter at this point? Byron, I thought that part of the contract you made to give us our powers was that you’d have to do something for her in exchange. Wouldn’t that mean that you’d have to indulge it regardless?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’m not actually sure,” Byron said, scratching his chin. “There’s nothing I remember from Code Geass about actually having to fulfill anything for the contract. And, well, I was more focused on the fact that we might all die at some point when I took the deal. Although, I highly doubt someone who was interested in all of us specifically would have any ill-intent.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you so sure about that,” Josh asked in a dead tone, giving Charlie a glance. Charlie merely smiled at him enthusiastically, jaw agape, and raised his eyebrows twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Regardless, we know romance is out of the picture,” Drew said as he reclined in his seat. “Not that I’d want to tap that or anything since, you know, she’s, like, two-hundred years old or whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While this elicited some chuckles or snorts from the others, Jory leaned forward in his seat to address Drew more squarely. “Wait a minute, weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who was all over that to begin with?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Drew said, “in my defense: she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> hella cute for a fossil. ...And I can’t believe I just said that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In any case,” Josh said, “you might want to be a little more concerned about that, Byron. I’ve seen plenty of people like her in fiction. For all we know she could be as much of an enemy as the guys that tried to kill us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, hang on,” Jory said. “She DID give us all of our powers. Even if she wasn’t on our side, she can’t be ALL bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude,” Drew interjected, “that’s like saying, ‘Hey, look, Osama Bin Laden gave me twenty bucks! He must not be so bad after all!’ Like, one good deed doesn’t clear a record.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t even know if she HAS a record. She hasn’t done anything to hurt us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, here’s an idea,” Ben said, “let’s start with: What do we even know about her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Aside</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the fact that she’s been around since the nineteen-seventies and that she has a special interest in us,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We do know </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing for certain, actually,” Jory said. “She has Code Geass powers. That attack from the werewolf guy should have killed her. But she survived it. From what Byron said, that was a fatal wound to a vital area. No human being could survive that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But she did,” Charlie chirped. “And so the confusion begins!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And seeing that she specifically stated she was establishing a ‘contract’ with you,” Josh said, “it makes sense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Byron confirmed, “and with my power and her note signing as A.A., there’s no argument there. But what I don’t get is how that was able to give </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us powers. Like, how does that even work? I looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>all over </span>
  </em>
  <span>Code Geass’ lore and </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>in it refers to </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>being able to give someone else completely unrelated powers, let alone from another </span>
  <em>
    <span>series.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It’s always been a Geass immortal establishing a contract that gives someone else Geass—that’s it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it just works differently in our universe,” Ben asked innocently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dear God, I hope not. The implications of that throw everything out the window.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oy, whatchamacallit,” Charlie said, “back on the stuff that we know about the chick: doesn’t she also have a posse of animal-masked goons to do her bidding?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Byron said, his face distorting in puzzlement. “I forgot about them...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here’s a thought, then,” Josh said, “what if she wanted to grow her forces? It would explain why it seemed like they were testing us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” Drew quipped, his words dripping with sarcasm, “let’s test six, know-nothing teenagers with zero combat experience to join the squad. That oughta help...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a thought. I didn’t say it was a good thought...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hate to say it, but Drew is right,” Jory said. “It’s not like we’re awesome enough to even </span>
  <em>
    <span>deserve</span>
  </em>
  <span> having superpowers. Byron I can understand—he’s a fucking child genius.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, why thank you,” Byron said charismatically with a sly smirk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory wagged a finger at Byron. “Pull your hand off your dick, bitch, I’m not done.” He then squared back to the rest of the group. “...But why </span>
  <em>
    <span>all of us</span>
  </em>
  <span>? She already has all of those guys with the animal masks, and those fuckers were tough as shit. We couldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>scratch </span>
  </em>
  <span>those other guys at the forest and they took them out no problem. What does she even get out of recruiting any of us when she has guys like those? Was she desperate?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so,” Byron said. “She absolutely knows </span>
  <em>
    <span>way </span>
  </em>
  <span>more than she’s letting on. And if she had a plan for us to begin with, I’d assume she still does.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh good, that’s what I like to hear... My dream comes true only to have a thread attached to it like a leash on a collar. Fucking brilliant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, at least you </span>
  <em>
    <span>got </span>
  </em>
  <span>yours,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So about the masky guys,” Charlie chimed, “why didn’t any of them stick around? Y’know, to help us out? I would think that if mystery girl wanted us to help her that she would AT MINIMUM assign someone to give us some pointers, y’know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben frowned. “...I don’t know...maybe they have too much on their plate already?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, definitely, like keeping the princess safe,” Drew said. “Let’s not forget that there’s basically a jacked up </span>
  <em>
    <span>superpowered </span>
  </em>
  <span>mafia that's out to get her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not only that,” Josh said, “but if they’re anything like us, then they’d be an </span>
  <em>
    <span>anime </span>
  </em>
  <span>superpowered mafia after her—after </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span>, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Josh said this, the crew looked at each other, soundlessly checking with each other to confirm the situation that had just been described. A moment’s pause later and Byron continued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re in the thick of it now, like it or not. It’s not the best position, so I’m sorry about that everyone… Although, at the rate we’re going, I think we’ll be prepared for almost anything in no time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’ve already got half our powers working,” Jory said. “I’d say that’s pretty fucking good for a single week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And on that topic, let’s get into what we’ve prepared so far.” Jabbing a thumb at his left eye, Byron continued: “In terms of superpowers, I’ve obtained a Geass that works similarly to the way that Lelouch’s works in the show.” He then pointed at Josh and Jory respectively. “Josh is confirmed as a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user from One Piece—some kind of Dragon model. And, lastly, Jory has Fire Dragon Slaying powers from Fairy Tail.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we just shorten mine to ‘I’m a dragon’,” Josh asked slightly irritably.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure. By the way, how’s that been so far? Any side effects from the Geass order and any problems transforming since?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. ...Or as fine as it can be, I guess. I’m not a dragon now and I haven’t really transformed since yesterday because the only time I could do it is at night and I have to sleep. But I don’t feel any different otherwise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s good to hear. I still need some test subjects for my power to work out all the kinks, but otherwise I think I’ve got a handle on it. Jory? How about you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I ate my fire for the day before I got here,” Jory said. “I’ve been </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning </span>
  </em>
  <span>to use it soon, but I don’t have any way to do it at my place—backyard is way too small and if I went to the front, everyone would see me. ...God, I SO want to just let loose a Fire Dragon’s Roar already.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A what,” Charlie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh replied, lazily glancing in Charlie’s direction. “Big fire breath.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Jory, if you’re going to start with a basic attack from the show, I suggest you go with Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A what,” Charlie repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fire punch,” Josh again replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really,” Jory asked looking lost at the suggestion. “I mean, I could, but why that one? I thought Roar was the first attack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just because it’s the signature move doesn’t mean it’s the attack you should learn first,” Byron said. “You wouldn’t want to blow all the magic you’ve saved up in one attack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that what I’ve been eating all that fucking fire for...so that wouldn’t happen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, actually. Right now, you still don’t have a gauge on your energy output with each attack, so making an attack that uses the most magic possible would be terribly inefficient. Having some initial magical energy is to help you learn how to portion it. So if you start with fist, you can gain some semblance of control and potentially make several superpowered attacks over the course of a fight instead of risking that you accidentally only get one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...You have a good point. I guess I’ll start getting on that then...however that works.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try to help you out before we leave so you have a basic idea of what to do mentally.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fantastic,” Byron said. He then turned to the others. “And that wraps up the ones we know. What about the rest of you? Any updates?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wish,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nnnnnnnope,” Charlie followed soon after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing yet,” Ben said after that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron hummed inquisitively. “Then I guess that’s our next order of business. ...Which we can do thanks to our preliminary base of operations.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“More like temporary,” Josh said. Byron only gave him a questioning look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask about that,” Ben said cautiously. “How much longer can we continue to meet here? I can’t imagine Josh’s parents would be okay with us meeting here regularly once they come back from their vacation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not about them,” Josh said. “We have a housesitter coming soon and practicing superpowers while they’re around is a bad idea. And we’re not using Geass on them until we know how it works. If it fails, they’ll absolutely rat us out to my parents.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory chuckled. “Just imagine what would happen if Josh’s bitch of a stepmom found out that he’s got powers. They’d probably attempt to milk the hell out of them via household labor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...You’re not wrong,” Josh admitted. “Honestly, I bet our enemies are paying them to be away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After pondering a bit, Byron clicked his tongue. “Drat, guess we’ll have to relocate here soon. Don’t know where, but maybe this is for the best. We really should get in the habit of setting ourselves up quickly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah,” Drew asked while stretching. “Why’s that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s safe to say that while our progress is decent, we're definitely not at a point where we could take on our foes from the forest. Until we’re combat-ready, using our environment is by far the best strategy we have against them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of them,” Ben said, “does anyone else find it a little scary how quiet they’ve been since we last met? Wonder what they’re up to…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe they forgot about us,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>highly</span>
  </em>
  <span> doubt that,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Drew said, “they seem like the kind of people who don’t like leaving loose ends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, if we see them again, we can ask them ourselves,” Charlie exclaimed jubilantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron crossed his arms and shook his head. “It’s not a matter of </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s a matter of </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, is this thing on? Like, can you hear me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The voice of a girl cut through the conversation...one that sounded like she was intentionally forcing a valley-girl persona. The group quietly turned their attention to the large-screen television from which the sound emanated. She cleared her throat and then continued with a happy tone. “Hey, boys~! Hope you’re doing well. So, like, I know this is a little late and maybe you don’t remember me, but I’m one of your masked friends who helped you out in the forest! Yeah...sorry about ditching you after that. Like, your contractor’s a busy woman... But that’s why </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> here: she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> like to make it up to y—.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh held the remote to the TV, his finger on the off button. “Nope.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Beat.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So...can we just all agree that that was definitely a trap,” Ben asked, slightly panicked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why do you think I turned it off?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because it sounds like a spam message,” Charlie asked innocently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that was definitely a trap,” Byron said. “If A.A. was content to continue being secretive with the letter, there’d be no reason why she’d just suddenly change track and randomly contact us now. Whoever just contacted us </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t with her.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then who the hell WAS that,” Jory almost screamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dunno,” Byron said, getting up from his seat. “But let’s put that aside. I’m more concerned about how they did that...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others perked up. Immediately they started checking everywhere for a listening device.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh, is there a microphone in that TV?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, that model doesn’t have a microphone,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about wifi,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I believe it does.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There you go, then,” Drew said. “And you know what they say about girls on the internet, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, cool, that’s great and all,” Jory said angrily, “but why do that when you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking superpowers</span>
  </em>
  <span>!?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To lure us into a false sense of security,” Ben asked shyly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or that’s what they </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> us to believe,” Charlie silly-spooky-spoke, wiggling his fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Either way, they’ve gotta be watching us somehow,” Byon said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but if it’s through the use of unknown superpowers, then doing this is pointless,” Josh said sitting back down. “Doing anything about it is pointless, really.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Riiiight,” Byron said, cringing a little. The group then settled down a bit and got back to their regular positions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Beat.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oookay,” Jory said, “now what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean,” Ben said, starting to curl up into a ball, “we could always just </span>
  <em>
    <span>ignore it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Yeah, Ben,” Drew said caustically as he moved toward the door to the backyard. “Let’s just run from our problem without going anywhere. That’ll show ‘em.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually,” Byron said, “maybe we </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> hear them out. It might reveal some things about their situation inadvertently.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So we just turn the TV back on,” Josh asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Then we just chill for a while. See if they try again.” (By this point, Drew had gotten to the door and was peeking through the shades.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh slowly took the remote and pressed the button once more, the light on the TV blaring to life. Drew moved the shades apart a bit more and started breathing on the glass, causing it to fog up. Soon the others noticed and they each gave him a questionable look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew,” Byron asked cautiously. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without looking back, he began to draw in the window breath. “Sending a message.” From their position it became clear that he was attempting to write “Flaccid” so that it would be read correctly from the outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t provoke them,” Ben exclaimed, grabbing on to the sofa as if to keep himself from flying out of his seat in panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are they gonna do,” Drew said putting on the finishing touches (drawing the most unerect penis he could muster), “huff and puff and blow the house down?” After he finished, he turned to the others. “Alright, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> they’ll try again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew proudly walked back to his seat, the others looking at him in a mix of awe and disgust. As soon as he sat down, a familiar voice came over the speakers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey boys~! It’s me again. So, like, we got your message, and, you know what? Even though that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>suuuuper</span>
  </em>
  <span> ruuude...I honestly think we kinda deserved it. You’re obviously smart enough not to take any bait, so, like, we’re just gonna give it to you straight from here on out. I’m with the group of people that you messed with in the forest. And I gotta tell you, our bosses are, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> very happy about that. But at the same time, we don’t know why you did what you did or even how you got there. I guess the point is that we’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> like to know some things that </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> you guys know and we’re willing to play nice if that means we can do it. So here’s the deal, in case you didn’t hear it before: we’ve planted a secret cache at your school with a phone so we have a secure line to chat. But we’re only gonna, like, make this offer once so if you wanna talk then you’re gonna have to get over there soon because if you don’t get it within the next thirty minutes, we’re gonna take it back and you won’t hear from us again. You can do whatever you gotta do to get it and we’ll clean up the mess. Oh, and we promise not to do anything crazy out in the open. I don’t know if you know this, but ever since you got involved you’ve been under investigation by the FBI... ...Yeah...kind of a problem for us and probably you guys too. So if we could talk, </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> we could keep them out of the loop and swap some notes. Like, you tell us about the red-haired girl and her friends and </span>
  <em>
    <span>we’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell you what the feds have on </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Sound good? Cool. I hope we can, like, work this out. Anyway, thanks for understanding. I’m gonna leave you all to it, then. Alright? Byyyyeeeeee~.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And at that, the TV grew quiet once more. The boys looked around at each other again, at a loss for words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Charlie said radly, “who’s up for a field trip?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Jory shot to his feet and rushed the TV. He grabbed the bottom of it and began yelling at it at full blast. (As he did this, Ben sunk into his own seat, taking the fetal position and whispering, “this can’t be happening.”) “Listen here, you little shit!!! I’m gonna find you and your posse of limp dick nitwits and when I do, I’m gonna fuckin—!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory,” Byron said sternly enough to get through to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHAT?!” Jory wheeled around and shot Byron a maddened glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a recording. They can’t hear you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory took a moment to process what he just heard. Then he relaxed and slowly turned fully, acting as if he hadn’t done what he just did. “Oh, then the recording can go fuck itself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, what did the recording ever do to you,” Charlie asked facetiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So are we just going to ignore </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> one,” Josh asked. “Or should we actually take it seriously?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron pondered this for a moment. “We might have to. I can’t believe we didn’t really consider this, but the whole FBI thing might actually be true...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t remind me,” Ben said, muffled beneath his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t get your skirt in a knot, Ben,” Drew said. “They could be lying about that too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not likely,” Byron said. “The message they just sent was designed to get us to move to a different location, meaning they don’t actually want us here to make their move. That would only make sense if the people watching us around here were actually from the FBI and not just ordinary police. Moreover, if that’s the case, then any number of the things that we’ve done in the past few days could’ve been exposed already. Although, I would wager that if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we’d probably be in custody by now. So I guess that if they are involved then they don’t know about our powers yet…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or they’re using us,” Josh said. “If they know enough about us and the group we’re up against then they may already know that we’re harmless and left us alone to lure them out of hiding.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, good point. If that’s the case then maybe going wouldn’t actually be a bad idea. Give them exactly what they want. That oughta build some rapport which would be useful for the future.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Ben said, flailing his arms as if to clear the air in front of him. “Are you ACTUALLY considering that we go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think the answer to that is ‘yes’,” Charlie said matter-of-factly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oookay, I’m kinda with Ben on this one,” Drew said. “If we thought the first message was a trap, then why wouldn’t this one be too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“EXACTLY,” Ben yelled, showing his hands toward Drew as if to say, “see, look!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Byron allowed, “but think about it this way: with the FBI involved, we’d have back-up in case things turn hairy, just like in the forest. All we’d have to do is give them our plans and we’d have the advantage. That’s as simple as talking about it in the open or on an open channel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and we have powers now,” Jory said. “I bet we could beat them before they even arrived.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t go that far, dude,” Drew said before giving Jory a thumb’s up. “But I like the confidence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Ben said hurriedly, “but what if the FBI ISN’T involved? Wouldn’t we be walking to our deaths?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even then,” Byron said, “I think that it may not be as dangerous as you might think. The part about them wanting what we know is probably true. During the forest escapade, they seemed genuinely unprepared for anyone else being there. And since we know they were after the girl for some item she had, if she’s as slippery with them as she is with us then I’d bet they actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to see if we know anything about her whereabouts. For people like these, information is worth more than gold. And they need us </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get it, magically or not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if they already got it magically, why would they need us alive? Haven’t we been acting on the pretense that they have that ability?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron paused for a moment to think. “...I don’t know about that anymore. If they’ve been listening in and know everything we do, why would they try to trick us with something that’s so obviously fake from our perspective? Their strategy just doesn't line up with that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” Charlie said ominously, “but what if they’re playing four dimensional chess and that </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> is part of their master plan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly,” Josh said, “I have to side with Byron on this one. They’re fallible just like we are. ...Or, more like they have to be if we’re to stand a chance against them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then we can agree that going isn’t as dangerous as it might first seem,” Byron said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Jory said, “so...we’re actually going?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess it’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span> off the table,” Drew said with a frown.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I STILL don’t like this idea,” Ben said ardently. “If the point of going is to get in contact with them to learn about what the FBI knows, and then we learn that the FBI </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> involved, wouldn’t that mean we took a pointless risk?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Byron said, “in fact, it would free us up immensely if we knew for certain that they weren’t. There’s no way we’re prepared for that level of surveillance as it stands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But are we prepared for what we could face if we went?! We have no idea what they have prepared for us and the first message was CLEARLY a trap to get us to go!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gentlemen,” Charlie interrupted in a pompous accent. “I believe there is only </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> way to solve this problem like civilized men.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Democracy,” Josh asked unenthusiastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I was gonna say fisticuffs, but I guess that works too.” (Drew and Jory both held in a laugh.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’ll take democracy, thanks,” Ben said warily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine by me,” Byron said. “But before we do this, let’s get one thing straight here: in a situation as risky as this, either we're all going or none of us are. So if we’re really going to vote on this, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be a unanimous decision. If any one of us refuses to go through with this, we shouldn’t force them to do it. It’s just a general principle of morale: I don’t want anyone here to think that we don’t value their life. Agreed?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group collectively gave their affirmations and soon settled in to vote.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Byron continued, “place your vote between going and staying and state your reasoning. We’ll do it one at a time. You can change your vote at any point, we’ll keep tally.” Byron looked over at Charlie and gave him a nod, Charlie gladly putting up both his hands to become a human tally board. “All set. Who’s first?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me,” Jory said excitedly. “I vote we go. If they want us to come, then let’s go there and use this chance to fuck ‘em up. Plus, we need to know what we’re really up against and now that we have powers, we can take the fight to them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s one for going,” Byron said as Charlie made an overexaggerated gesture to lift a single finger. Byron then pointed at Drew, next to Jory. “Drew? How ‘bout you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, put me down as a solid ‘probably not’,” Drew said stretching. “Although, I’m up for being convinced otherwise. Come back to me in a bit. I wanna see what everyone else has to say.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing,” Byron said, Charlie matching his fingers raised one to one and making them clash like swords and making epic movie sounds. “Charlie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, is it my turn,” Charlie said in his patented falsetto, stopping abruptly. “Hmmm. I dunno how I feel about the whole fighting thing. Probly too early for that. But if we’re just goin’ to the school to have a look around, I think we should probably be fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Second that,” Byron said. “Combat should be off the table if we can help it. (Jory groaned in disappointment in the background.) But I think we’re at the point where we could at least sus out a threat and retreat if need be. I also think that finding out if the FBI are really involved is imperative to everything we do going forward. That information alone is worth a hefty risk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Two more for the field trip, then,” Charlie said as he put up two more fingers on the “go hand” in epic fashion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Make that three,” Drew said. “So long as we keep it to checking it out and nothing else, I think I’m down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie looked between his two hands at his upright fingers with a look that said, “this is wrong now and needs to be fixed” then slammed them together and quickly swapped the one finger on the stay-hand to the go-hand before pulling them apart. After this was done, he used his now free hand to present the go-hand with four raised fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s four,” Byron said. “Josh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh frowned. “There are good reasons for either choice here...but if everyone else thinks that we should go, I’ll go too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And that just leaves Ben,” Byron said, the rest of the crew looking over at him in anticipation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...You are ALL MAD,” Ben said with a disgusted look on his face. “How can you all seriously consider walking into something that we all agreed was a TRAP?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trap or not,” Byron said, shaking his head, “they’re coming for us eventually, Ben. The question is whether our encounter will be of our own volition or not. If they’re prepared to come and get us now, we’re out of prep time. They’ll change strategies to something that </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> require our cooperation in a heartbeat. And there’s no guarantee we’ll be together when </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> happens...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can’t see that ending well,” Jory said adamantly. “We need to go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben hesitated at the thought but his face showed he was more conflicted given the new information.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If it makes you feel any better,” Drew said, thumbing at Josh, “you can have first dibs on the attack dragon.” (Josh shot Drew a look as if to say, “I’m not your pet, bitch.”)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben fell silent for a moment and bit his lip. “...I...I don’t like the thought of going, but if it’s to keep something worse from happening later...then fine. I’ll go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s settled,” Byron said. “Let’s get going.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Field triiiiiiip,” Charlie yelled like a kid in a candy store, jumping to his feet. The others each got up and moved to the hall to put on their shoes and file through the door. Once outside, they gathered in the driveway and Josh closed the garage door using the external keypad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, circle up,” Byron said, swinging a finger in the air, “let’s talk game plan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crew got into a loose circle, Charlie moving to look like he was in a football huddle. “Annnnnd...break,” he said dead-seriously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. We need to form some general strategies. As for right now, we are going to form groups of </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Those groups will stick together for the remainder of this excursion—even once we have to separate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, once,” Ben asked in a croak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh said, “we’re gonna have to separate when we enter the school. There’s a lot of ground to cover if going to find a device.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Byron said. “But don’t worry too much about that. I doubt that they’d attack any of us head-on unless they knew for sure that they’d win. Worst case scenario, assuming they watched our little show-and-tell from yesterday, Ben, Drew, and Charlie are still unknown quantities. By grouping them apart we can match pairs of one </span>
  <em>
    <span>known</span>
  </em>
  <span> quantity to one </span>
  <em>
    <span>unknown</span>
  </em>
  <span> quantity—this will allow us to cover the most ground and make them think twice about making any...</span>
  <em>
    <span>risky moves</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if you catch my drift.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spineless bastards,” Jory said holding up a fist. “I can’t wait to tear these guys a new asshole."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Collectively,” Ben asked, still clearly on edge. “One, new hole?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Charlie said decidedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Sooo, teams,” Drew asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go with you, Ben,” Josh sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Ben almost whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Hey, Drew,” Jory said hopefully, “wanna go kick some ass like in the old days?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea when </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was,” Drew said snarkily, “but sure, I’ll tag with you, champ.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew started lazily walking toward Jory and extended his arm to shake hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww,” Charlie whined in baritone, “but I was SO looking forward to fighting crime with my trusty comrade-in-arms: Drew the Destroyer…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew stopped motionless before the handshake and then effortlessly spun around on his heels. He pulled up his pants then lazily started to walk away. “Sorry, Jory—duty calls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, woah, wait a minute,” Jory gawked. “Seriously? SERIOUSLY!? You’re gonna’ be like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew stopped and then turned back around toward Jory, smiling brightly. “I’m just messin’ with you, dude.” He walked over to Jory, offering a handshake again. “‘Sides, it’s against the pairing rules.” (He then craned his neck to face Charlie and whispered, “Next time, Charlie. That’s a promise.”)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie made a heart with his hands and mouthed “love you”. Drew rolled his eyes and smiled, and then finally shook hands with Jory. During that time, Byron walked up next to Charlie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well then, Charlie,” Byron said, “guess that means you’re with me. ...Just don’t make me babysit you, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie jumped over to Byron and hugged him. “Hooraaay! Exorcist Man and Bible Boy’s first, action-packed adventuuuuure~~~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Charlie let go, Byron put his hand to his face. “Oy, vey…” He then looked around at the new pairings which had remade the circle. “Okay, team, looks like we’re ready. Time to go—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Ben said while abruptly putting up a hand, the others turning toward him with an array of curious expressions. “Before we go, I have just </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> last thing I want us all to consider.” Ben took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Okay… So I know this happens in manga and anime a lot...but I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a fan of scenes where people sacrifice themselves for others. If there's one thing that I want us all to prioritize even more than winning...it's to make sure that none of us die. ...It’s not a victory in my book if we can’t share it together."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The others smiled and nodded, looking around at each other proudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, why stop there,” Jory said, putting his hand into the middle of the circle. “Let's make it a promise: 'never let a friend die'. This is the first rule of our group.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One by one, each of the other boys put their hands in too. ...However, as the last one in, Charlie puts his on the bottom facing up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Charlie,” Ben said worriedly, “what are you doing?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I know what I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing,” Charlie said. “Being a sheep like the rest of you fools."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Can't you just do this one thing normally," Josh sneered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmmm. Likely."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was a yes or no question, Charlie,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but only sheep think they have to answer questions in set ways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh,” Drew smirked, “I kind of like it. It's different, but in a good way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Byron said, the gears spinning in his head, “it could be symbolic too. All our hands rest on Charlie's. He’s holding us up, along with all the burdens we carry with these hands."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So I'm carrying all your guy's burdens right now,” Charlie asked incredulously. “Well. Screw this! I don't want to be on the bottom anymore!" At that he pulled his hand out and put it on top.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Byron said, rolling his eyes and replacing his hand where Charlie’s was facing upward. “I'll be on the bottom."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That's what she said,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory said, “you kinda set yourself up for that one…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Byron said. “So I guess we'll do the old hands-in, hands-up. This is our first major mission as the six of us. You guys ready?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready as I can be,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmmm, indubitably~,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let's kick some ass,” Jory yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here we go, then,” Byron said. “Whatever you want on three. One...two...three!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A jumbled mess of random cheers came from the group as they all raised their hands simultaneously and turned toward the street down the driveway.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Two cars passed through an intersection, one a few seconds after another. Charlie, Byron and Josh were in one car while Drew, Ben, and Jory were in the other. They both had one another on speaker phone so they could still communicate while they were driving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good thing we’ve got a quick way of getting there,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Through the phone, Ben’s voice rang out. “...It sort of feels like cheating...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Drew said, “they </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> say we could use whatever we want so why the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>would we walk?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alrighty,” Charlie interjected, “so, run the plan by us again so that we all know what we’re doin’ and whatnot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Byron said. “Once we get to the school we’re going to split up into our teams to enter at different points to find the device. Search every room you can along your route, and if you can’t enter a room, just keep your ears open for ringing or beeping. Does everyone remember where you’re tasked with searching?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me and Jory are gonna enter by the pool and check out the gym, locker rooms, music wing, and then go back toward the commons,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh and I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> enter by the pool but skip to the language hallway, check the auditorium, and hit up as many classrooms as we can until help arrives,” Ben said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...And me and Charlie will take the main office entrance and search all the way up through the science wing, library included, then double back toward the commons,” Byron said. “Good. Stick to the plan, and we should be in and out before we know it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” Josh snarked. “Just the six of us going through the </span>
  <em>
    <span>entire school</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Should be easy—like finding a needle in a haystack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not to mention we have danger potentially lurking around every corner,” Ben said hoarsely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Byron,” Charlie said plainly, “since we might die here, can we at least check the lunch room to see if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> stopped making those cookies? I’ve always wanted to know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If they haven’t, probably wouldn’t mind if we snagged a few for the road too,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I agree with this plan,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No </span>
  </em>
  <span>stealing anything,” Byron said. “We’re already on questionably legal grounds going to the school after hours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awwww, but Byyyrooooon,” Charlie whined. “Why nooooot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t feel so good,” a strained and muted voice came over Josh’s phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory, was that you,” Byron asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was,” Ben said. The next thing he said was also muted a bit as if he was talking away from the phone. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m...not sure...I felt kinda crappy on the way to Josh’s place but I thought it was ‘cuz of somethin’ I ate...but it's worse now for som—OH~~, MY HEAD!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“OHHHHHH NO, DON’T YOU </span>
  <em>
    <span>DARE </span>
  </em>
  <span>THROW UP ON ME,” Ben yelped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"WE WILL NOT BE HAVING ANY ACCIDENTS IN THE AWESOME MOBILE," Drew’s voice came over the phone. “MAN UP AND HOLD IT IN!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie started laughing maniacally. “CHAOS!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck,” Josh said. “Byron, we forgot the thing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Right, </span>
  </em>
  <span>shit,” Byron said in disappointment. “When Dragon Slayers get enough magic inside of them, they start feeling motion sickness. ...I guess my training method had some bumps in it.” He positioned the phone to make sure the others could hear him on the other end through their panic. “Jory, we’re literally down the street, just hang in there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a headache, I don’t think I’m gonna puke,” Jory said painfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few moments later and the boy’s cars pulled into the lot of their high school. The place was basically empty so they took the first places they could get out. After that they circled around Jory to make sure he was okay. He took a deep breath, his hands on his knees and put up his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about me. Just give me a minute, I am okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take your time,” Byron said, turning to the others. “And one last time: does everyone remember the plan?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nnnnnnnnnnnnnno,” Charlie said playfully. “Could you run it by me again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron looked at Charlie sternly, the latter simply turning his head, smiling innocently and raising his eyebrows twice. The group chuckled while Byron soured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyone else have any concerns before we get going?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do we </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do this,” Ben asked hopefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gee Ben,” Josh snarked, “I don’t know. It’s not like we took the time to come here already or anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben pouted. “Believe it or not, Josh, but some of us </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t have powers yet</span>
  </em>
  <span>... If I get caught in a fight, I’m done for...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Same here, Ben,” Drew said, “but honestly, you have a freaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>dragon</span>
  </em>
  <span> at your disposal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie made a party sound and a gesture on one knee with his arms stretched out spot-lighting Josh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh ignored him. “Hey, at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> responsible. Jory on the other hand...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory had since gotten over being sick and was standing upright, staring at the school with an obsessed glare, slowly raising his hand in the air and looking at it. He then looked back and forth from the hand to the school and smiled devilishly. Byron immediately (but lightly) smacked him upside the head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“OH, FOR FUCK’S SAKE,” Jory whirled to look at Byron. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I may not have mind reading powers, but I know what you’re thinking: </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>burning the school down. That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>strictly </span>
  </em>
  <span>off-limits.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE ALL THE FUN OUT OF LIFE?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SO THAT MORONS LIKE </span>
  <em>
    <span>YOU </span>
  </em>
  <span>DON’T GET US ALL </span>
  <em>
    <span>KILLED!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben cringed. “Well, I guess it </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> be worse...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew shook his head. “You’re telling </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, buddy...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron then turned dramatically to address the group once more. “Okay, playtime’s over people.” He pointed to the school. “That’s the destination. Partner up and take to your entrances. Stay sharp, watch your flanks, and most importantly—keep your word. We made a promise that none of us are dying here and that means I expect to see </span>
  <em>
    <span>every single one of you </span>
  </em>
  <span>alive by the end of this. Got it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group affirmed Byron’s rallying call as he took his first few steps toward the school. Josh started walking toward the pool entrance. Ben hesitated for a moment, but Charlie gave him a little push in the right direction and patted his head before going to catch up with Byron. Ben made a dramatic show of resentment, but ultimately sulked after Josh. Meanwhile, Jory squealed in delight and took off toward Josh leaving Drew shaking his head and jogging after him.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Across the street from the school, watching the boys from the dashboard of a tricked-out van, two familiar figures sat. One of the figures hit the button in their station, then spoke, revealing the rich baritone of Agent Smith.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Prepare for pursuit. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To Be Continued...</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. First Hand, All-In - Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>First Hand, All-In - Part 2</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>George's head peeked up from behind the bottom of a windowsill as a disembodied voice began to imitate the beginning of the Mission Impossible theme song. George started to bob across the sill, looking back and forth, then doing what looked to be a dodge roll and carrying on, all the while the singing reached the main tune and started to devolve into a raspy and obnoxious mess.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dananaaaaa...dananaaaaa...dananaaaaa….dana!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Charlie, what are you doing," Byron asked looking at George from behind. From Byron's view, Charlie had his back plastered to the wall below the window to a science classroom, holding George above it. He stopped and looked up at Byron who was still staring at him slightly disapprovingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Charlie said, suddenly ceasing his singing. “What’s up, man? Hear the phone yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, all I’m hearing is you. I’ll ask again: what are you doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, being sneaky,” Charlie said as if it was common sense, still in the position he was in earlier. “I respect the balls to the walls approach you’re doin’, but unlike you I gotta be ready for danger so I can get the hell out of here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Okay? So how is </span>
  <em>
    <span>singing</span>
  </em>
  <span> helping with that? If anything it makes you easier to find.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well I’m glad you asked because I have a very good reason for it,” Charlie said, finally getting up after getting past the window.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You see, my fine leathered friend, these people who called us over here would expect our spying around to be all quiet and stuff, yeah? So they’ll be looking for the people who are the least conspicuous as the ones who are the guys who know what they’re doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Uh huh?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“BUT, by making as much noise as possible, I fool the enemy into believing that I am incompetent spy, thereby fooling them into letting down their guard—believing that I am not a threat! And therefore, if they would attack us, they would go for you or any of the others first!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...So you’re faking being useless so that they’ll decide to leave you for last?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Precisely,” Charlie said while bringing George back to his front, who was looking a bit lost. “Also, George is legally blind and has to use echolocation to get around. So unless someone is making noise, then he doesn’t know where to go.” (George looked around at Charlie’s face, then back at Byron and nodded).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Well, I’m not sold on either of those, but I do see one slight hole in your plan, Charlie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? What may that be, Bible Boy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron considered responding to being called ‘Bible Boy’ but chose to drop that too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that you’ve said that aloud, supposing they’re watching, as you’ve implied, don’t you think they now know your plans?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but what if that </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> is all part of my master plan? You have a lot to learn, Bible Boy. Keep up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, Charlie turned and began to move to the next window, getting ready to move past it like he did the other one. Byron merely facepalmed in response, shaking his head and walking after him.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>After a lack of luck with the gym hallway, and a bit of snooping in the music wing, Jory and Drew emerged into the main hallway on their route, turning back toward the pool area to continue their search. Drew casually strolled with his hands behind his head, looking forward at their destination as Jory lingered behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Drew began, “I can’t say I’m surprised that literally everything is locked in a school on a Saturday. But it definitely makes our job a lot easier. Guess we’re gonna be early on helping Josh and Ben.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After turning to look in Drew’s direction, Jory stopped in the hallway and stared at the expanse before him. Noticing that the footsteps behind him stopped, Drew turned back to Jory and caught him gazing down the hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You good there, Champ?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not okay,” Jory finally burst, throwing his arms out in anger. “I finally get superpowers and here I am walking around not even using them! What the fuck even is this shit?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew frowned. “There’s not exactly a whole lot to use them </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span>, dude. ‘Sides, if I remember correctly, you haven’t even used them properly yet anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s was taken aback, his expression matching his befuddled thinking. “What the fuck? You’re RIGHT! I can’t believe I haven’t even done the most important part yet!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you didn’t think about that before wanting to get into a fight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, shut up,” Jory said, giving a halting gesture to Drew dramatically. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> moment and I don’t want you ruining it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure, you already did,” Drew chided. “Now that we’re here, there’s not a lot to try it with. Unless you’re going to break something, but I don’t exactly want to be the one catching heat for that, if you catch my drift.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory thought for a moment, staring blankly at Drew and then the scenery behind him. His eyes narrowed as a thought formed in his head and he looked at his feet and then back at the lengthy corridor before him. Then his lips curled into a smile as he whispered, “Maybe we won’t have to…” Jory then squared toward Drew again to address him. “So just as long as I don’t burn anything, I can try it, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, Champ. Knock yourself out. ...And just to be EXTRA-special sure: that’s a figure of speech.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>get</span>
  </em>
  <span> that. Don’t worry, what I’ve got in mind will be perfectly fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> curious,” Drew said dryly with a creeping smirk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, just watch,” Jory said bitterly. After which, he took a couple yard’s worth of steps back down the hall in the opposite direction from Drew and turned to face him taking a sprinter’s starting stance. He took a deep breath and centered his mind. “I know just the image for this...” Drew continued to stare in Jory’s direction as Jory prepared himself, leaning a bit to the side with a raised-eyebrow. “...Just like Natsu,” Jory mumbled to himself, taking another moment to himself for preparation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted to do this…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment later and Jory broke into a sprint, taking two steps and launching off the ground, flames suddenly bursting from his feet. He flew through the air past Drew with flames on his soles propelling him forward, yelling to his compatriot, “FEEL THE BUR—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment later he veered off course, his feet flying past his head and his body turning toward the line of lockers on the side of the hall. A metallic thud rang out in the hall as Jory slammed into the metal cabinets and fell to the ground on his side. Drew, in a panic, rushed over to aid him, Jory slowly getting up (seemingly okay) but clutching his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FUCK!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew knelt down next to Jory, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy, Champ. What’s the damage?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing major, I think,” Jory said, still in pain. “It just hurts a bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean your nose? Let me touch it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew’s hand reached to Jory’s nose and he pinched on it a few times, Jory wincing in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, dude! That hurts! Don’t manhandle my wound right after I get it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, next time you tell someone something will be ‘perfectly fine’ how about you not freak them the hell out literally five seconds later, alright?” Jory grumbled at Drew’s retort as Drew stood up and offered Jory a hand. “Let’s get you up, Champ.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory took Drew’s hand, Drew pulling Jory to his feet. The two brushed Jory down as he continued. “Well, I’m not bleeding, so that’s a good sign. ...I was expecting a broken nose, or something. But it looks like I didn’t break anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell that to the locker.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory followed Drew’s unimpressed look to the locker he slammed into, a face-sized indent in the one between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory winced. “Man, that’s ugly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Took you long enough to notice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped, Drew casually starting to walk away. “Alright, enough fooling around,” Drew continued. “Let’s get these rooms checked out. ...Preferably without any more trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Jory moaned. “Fine…”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“I have the weirdest urge to punch Jory right now,” Josh said staring into the distance from the furthest side of the lowest area in a large auditorium. Ben, just above him, was checking beneath a row of seats and groaned while getting to his feet. Patting himself off and moving to meet Josh in the aisle, he continued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we not talk about friendly fire and actually get this done? I’d kinda like to get back with the others as soon as possible. ...No offense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to as well, but in case you haven’t noticed yet, we have a lot of ground to cover.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two stood in silence for a moment as Ben took in the scenery: rows upon rows of seats left untouched since they began only minutes before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After grimacing, Ben replied. “...Is there </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> other way?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not unless we can figure out a reason for why they wouldn’t put it here,” Josh said. “Our task is to check the whole school for a package. So long as the area is accessible to us, it’s possible that they put it there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then can we at least speed this up somehow? Or maybe come back to it with help?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh thought about this for a moment, his expression also reluctant to search the whole room. Suddenly he perked up. “...I just had a really good idea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Care to share with the rest of the class,” Ben asked snarkily, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, dragons have heightened senses, right? So if I transform, then I may be able to spot the phone in most of the rows even from here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben looked at the stretch of chairs going across the room from their current level. “...I guess that might work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll do that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben looked around at the wall behind them. “Are you sure you’ll fit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s only one way to find out,” Josh said, getting into position by turning perpendicular to the seats and taking a wider stance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, then at least wait until I’m out of the w—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Promptly, Ben was engulfed in a wave of scales and squished against the wall. Josh craned his neck to look out at the seats for several seconds but then felt Ben attempting to wriggle out from behind him. (“Ow, Josh, that is a wall,” his high-pitched voice squeaked in pain.) Josh quickly turned to look at Ben and hissed as if to cuss, getting himself ready to revert form. Another moment later and Josh was back to his normal self, Ben sinking to the floor and taking in air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought I was going to die… I could hardly breathe…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Ben,” Josh said, awkwardly standing next to him. “As soon as I was ready it just kinda happened…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I’ll be fine...just...please tell me you got a good look.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t see anything. The angle isn’t good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Great,” Ben said tersely. As he got up using the wall to steady himself, he sighed. "I guess we're doing this the hard way..."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh hesitated again. "Not necessarily."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben's expression contorted in confusion. “But didn’t you say just a little while ago that if the area is open, we have to search it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I said we only had to if we couldn't think of a good enough reason to do otherwise."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay? But I asked this earlier and we couldn't think of anything."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just had another thought.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...And what would that be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you know how we’re supposed to be searching for something in a time limit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t they want to put it somewhere so that we could find it in that time limit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that thought, Ben made an expression as if he was lost in the woods. "But what if it is here? Wouldn't we be risking losing it?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If it isn't, I don’t think we can look around here and make the rounds to the other rooms. That’s a good enough reason for me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben stared at Josh, still in bewilderment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...But if you still think we should, then we can search the easier places in here first, finish our other locations, and if we still haven't found it we'll come back with the others. So let's go do that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh began to move toward the stage. Ben soon turned from confusion to anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you’re telling me I suffered for nothing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No. I'm saying that whenever you’re done being scarred for life, I’ll be backstage.” Josh proceeded to start to walk up the steps to the stage, not looking back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Ben sprung into action, following Josh to the stage. “Jooooosh! Don’t leeeave meeeee!! Who’s going to protect meeeeeeeee!!!”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Drew and Jory had doubled back to a few classrooms closer to the pool hallway (where they entered) and turned into the hallway toward the lunch room, taking a detour into the physics wing. This time Drew lagged behind as Jory exited the hall, touching his face again and wincing from the pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but seriously,” Jory said, “seeing me fly past you was cool as fuck, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it was cool, alright, Champ,” Drew said nonchalantly. “Don’t get me wrong: you gave that locker a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sick</span>
  </em>
  <span> face high-five.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh. That’ll scare the fuck out of the custodians.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew and Jory both stopped walking to look at each other in panic, then both spoke at once: “Oh shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we gonna do,” Jory said worriedly. “If the school finds out it was me...I can’t explain how I fucking caused that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno about the school finding out. But what I’m worried about is how Byron would react.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit… Waitwaitwait, Byron has Geass. We can just make everyone see that the dent isn’t there!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think he’s going to be too thrilled about having to do that for literally everyone who walks in the building,” Drew said, turning to walk down the hall again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we don’t have a choice!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Jory,” Drew said, stopping again. “Hold that thought.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, ‘hold that thought’? What, I shouldn’t be trying to figure this out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I mean there’s more important things to worry about right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory frowned in confusion but soon followed Drew’s gaze to the end of the hall by the cafeteria. There, a suspicious man leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed, not paying attention to them at all. Immediately, the two grouped together and Drew put his hand on Jory’s shoulder before whispering to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t look like a janitor...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s face lit up with a sinister smile as he started toward the man, pushing Drew out of the way. Drew shrugged and followed from a safe distance. As they walked closer, they saw that he wore two black bandanas, one as a mask and the other as a hair cover, and had on a hoodie and some jeans. Hearing their approach, he promptly turned his head to face them, revealing piercing green eyes, but didn’t budge from his post. The air around him was definitely hostile. Jory stopped a couple yards away from him, Drew behind him another yard or so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, he looks friendly,” Drew said, his words dripping in sarcasm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory said cracking his knuckles, “about as friendly as a shark. I’m gonna fuck him up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Easy there, Champ. Why don’t we try talking to him first?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right, lemme just do that real quick,” Jory said, raising his voice. “Hey! Fuckin’ Organization-XIII-Grim-Reaper-looking douchebag! You with the idiots that called us earlier?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man simply stared at them, completely unphased and unflinching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t seem very talkative either,” Drew said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can see that,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s try this then.” Drew waved to the guy awkwardly. “Hey, buddy. If you’re not gonna tell us anything, then we're just gonna go right past you, if you don’t mind. We got stuff to do and you’re in the way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Drew said this, the man reluctantly stood up straight from his spot and started to walk toward the commons. But after he moved past the entryway to the area, suddenly he turned around and stood facing the boys, crossing his arms. Jory and Drew looked at each other for a brief moment, Jory turning back with a delighted grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like you get your fight after all, Champ.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have no fucking clue how much I WANTED THIS!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the emphasis, Jory took off toward their opposer, screaming loudly and readying a punch. But before he could get to him, without moving an inch, a swirl of wind kicked up around the man and a sudden, huge blast of air intercepted Jory, sending him flying back at Drew. Drew braced himself against the buffeting gale and managed to stay standing. Jory, on the other hand, fell to his back just a few feet away as the gust finally died down. Drew moved to help Jory up, but the latter was already basically back on his feet—ready for more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So...that went well,” Drew said, giving Jory a disappointed look. “Try actually getting to him next time, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> one to talk,” Jory barked, turning back at Drew. “Why don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> try then?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew extended his arm toward the man, “I wouldn’t want to intrude on the fight you’ve always wanted. Please, continue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” Jory said, turning back to his opponent (who hadn’t moved an inch still) with a soured glare. “I’m on it...dick.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pérez and two agents neared an entrance to the school, weapons at the ready—pausing before entering, still and stone-faced. A few seconds of silence dragged on for what seemed like an eternity until finally the walkie on the officer’s belt sounded off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Are all units in position? Over.”</span>
  <em>
    <span> Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Officer Pérez grabbed the walkie with one hand, keeping her weapon pointed toward the ground. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Point 2, ready. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She put the walkie back on her belt, the other groups checking in as well. Agent Smith also stood in front of a door with his own posse of agents on an adjacent side of the school. After the last one called in, he took his walkie and held it to his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Command to all units. On my mark we all enter the building together and sweep the place. I want radio silence unless you find something out of the ordinary. And remember: if you find </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> in there, call for backup </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That’s an order. I don’t want any heroics. Got it? Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez and her crew stood by the door, readying themselves for the mission. “You heard the man,” Pérez said. “But just in case, weapons at the ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Funny, I’d always been told</span> <em><span>not</span></em><span> to bring a firearm to school,” one of the officers with her chuckled.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s hope we won’t have to use them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Mission start. Stay safe out there.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, the agent who made the joke opened the door and Pérez and the third member entered the school silently, the man holding the door looking multiple ways before entering as well and closing the door behind them.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>After leaving the auditorium, Josh and Ben had made their way through another B hallway, coming to the main, middle hallway of the school next to the back-half end of the media center. Looking around the corner, Josh gave the all clear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprised we haven’t run into any of the others yet,” he said as the two cautiously entered the open hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’d like to find them soon,” Ben said, still a little miffed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Keep going on about that, and I won’t protect you in case of an attack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben stopped dead in his tracks with his back to the media center windows. “You know what? I’m not going to let you use that against me anymore!” Then, he waved his arms out dramatically as though throwing something to the wind. “There they go! All the cruds I give!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly there were two light, glassy taps, followed by a loud thud, like a bird flying into a window. Josh whirled around taking a battle-ready stance whereas Ben practically dove behind him, covering his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I take it back! Defend meeee!!!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment, Josh lowered his guard and started holding back some laughter. Ben, realizing he wasn’t in danger, looked up to see Charlie pressing up against the glass with his entire body, moving his arms around sexually while cross-eyed and making kissy motions. Byron stood next to him with his face in his hand and shaking his head. Ben began to pout as Charlie finished what he was doing and mimicked laughing like Santa Claus. Byron motioned to the others with a stunted salute and then with a thumbs up or a thumb’s down giving a look as if to ask “did you find it yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure we can talk through this glass,” Josh said, taking Byron and Charlie by surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that simplifies things, then,” Byron said, his voice muffled through the glass. “Any luck?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. We were just about to try and meet up with Jory and Drew in the B Hallways. I’m glad we ran into you though. We have a problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t we always,” Charlie said incredulously...to which the others ignored him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ben said, “we went to the auditorium earlier and the doors are open. We think the package might be in there, but it’s too big for just the two of us to search.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a problem,” Byron said, putting his hand to his chin. “Alright, well, we’re almost done on our end. If you guys meet up with the others, head on over there together and get a head-start. Charlie and I will meet up with you later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Ben and Josh heard a scream of anger from what sounded like Jory. They looked down the hall as Byron and Charlie gave them a perplexed stare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What,” Charlie asked, tilting his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory,” Josh said pointedly. “Sounded like he was…” Josh squinted his eyes, making out the figure of someone in the distance. Immediately, he turned to book it down the hallway, Ben holding back for a moment, looking between Byron and Charlie and Josh, but soon merely screamed “Josh!” and ran off after his teammate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for the love of—,” Byron said, starting off toward the exit on the opposite side of the media center. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go time,” Charlie said in a gruff commando-voice as he followed after him.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” Jory yelled as he got up again after rolling backwards from being blown back. “JUST FUCKING MOVE!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to admit, Jory,” Drew said. “Trying the low angle was pretty impressive. But you still didn’t get him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shut up.” Jory stared at the man facing him down, who still hadn’t moved a single inch. "Stupid bastard...the hell am I gonna do now...?" Out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention: a trash can affixed to the wall. Jory took a few steps toward it, slowly but surely inching close enough to take it off the wall, his eyes never leaving his opponent. Once he had it, he moved back a bit. Drew only frowned at his partner’s antics.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory then lifted the trash can like he was going to throw it at his opponent, but before he did he propped it on his leg and put his hand to the backside of the lid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, hey Mr. Trashcan," Jory said nonchalantly. (Drew almost spit out his teeth holding in a laugh in the background.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, hey,” Jory made the trash can say as he flapped the lid like a mouth and talked in a falsetto. “What’s up, Jory?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, not much. Just fighting someone who plays like a pussy bitch."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Aw, man that’s a real bummer, huh, Jory?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, he's a real piece of SHIT!" On the emphasis of his words, Jory tossed the trash can as hard as he could at his opponent and dove for the opposite corner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just like before, the wind picked up around the man, easily pushing back the projectile and swiftly turning to Jory who was blown back once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“GOD DAMN IT,” Jory shot up back to his feet, getting ready to get back in the fray.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But before he could, the man before him perked up and turned to his head to look at the adjacent hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory! Drew! Are you alright?!” Ben’s voice called from the other hallway. He was ducked behind a bench while Josh stood in the middle of the hall several yards closer, staring down the masked man with a scowl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo! Ben,” Drew called out. “We’re fine. Josh still with you?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh called out. “I’m here. Who is this guy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t say,” Jory yelled. “But we know he’s with the people from the forest! Watch out! He has wind powers!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he’s been kicking Jory’s ass,” Drew yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory looked back at Drew angrily. “Drew!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Just thought I’d give them a proper update.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you crazy,” Ben yelled in a mix of anger and fright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not now, Ben,” Jory yelled back in frustration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Byron and Charlie reached the end of the other hall, Charlie sidling up against the turn to the corner. He peered around the corner first, George peeking his head after. Turning back to Byron, the two looked at each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you see,” Byron whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Some punk lookin’ guy with Drew and Jory on the other side of him,” Charlie said. “Although he was lookin’ the other direction so I bet Josh and Ben are in the other hall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds dangerous,” George concluded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we flank him? Or...wait, why is he here? Maybe he’s protecting the—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the boy’s faces lit up as the sound of some kind of device hummed loud enough for all of them to hear. Looking into the common’s area, a black satchel sat underneath one of the seats, the sound reverberating from its general direction. Byron and Charlie caught a glimpse of the bag and looked at each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Objective spotted,” Byron whispered with a grin.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Flashes of black streaked past the background of the white halls and clear windows of the school. They moved methodically, one cop at a time with gun in hand to check around the next corner, taking turns as they each yelled “clear” and moved forward to the next one. Agent Smith’s group ran past the lockers toward the pool entrance past the music hallway Drew and Jory came out of earlier. They got to the corner and paused, part of the group separating and turning right down the gym hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you hear that,” one of the agents said to Smith as they held position by the leftward turn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Smith said. Immediately, they turned the corner to the commons. Smith’s eyes widened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez and her company ran toward the commons area at breakneck pace, having passed all of the side hallways. They came upon the commons area and then…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez stood in the intersection between the hallway with the physics wing and the commons from the main, middle hall she had come from. The officer stood, looking around, absolutely no one to be seen. Her group secured the area giving the all clear and soon Agent Smith’s group came upon them from the direction of the pool hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tch. It’s just you,” Agent Smith scowled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Happy to see you’re safe too,” Officer Pérez chided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This place is so quiet we could hear your footsteps and calls from the other hall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s almost like...there’s no one here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two stood there in the intersection looking around somewhat bewildered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That can’t be right,” Agent Smith finally said. “Where are the boys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other officers with Pérez had moved to the doors toward the exit to the school and checked that area too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All clear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take the other side too,” Agent Smith said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without hesitation, the two moved to check the hallways and exit near the opposite end of the commons. Another group of officers emerged from the third main hallway from the direction of the office and moved carefully into the zone now under occupation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Clear all the way up here,” the leading agent said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But...that doesn’t make any sense,” Officer Pérez said with an increasingly worried face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are they,” Agent Smith whispered, taking his walkie off his belt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Targets missing. Any visual from the outside? Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One by one, the various teams on the outside all checked in, reporting negative. While this happened, Smith held the walkie in his hand staring at it as if he’d seen a ghost. “Where are they,” he said again, the lack of confirmation still rolling in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that very moment, the officers he sent off to check the remaining hallways returned both from the nearby exit and the other hallway his group had parted to, Officer Pérez turning her attention to her original team.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All clear, ma’am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All clear, sir,” the other ones reported.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, the last of the teams on the outside reported in as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Point K. Negative. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hearing this, Smith turned to look at Pérez, the latter handing him an expression of pure shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re sure they entered,” Smith said in a panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We saw it with our own two eyes, sir,” the officer said, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHERE ARE THEY,” Agent Smith yelled in anger. “They HAVE to be here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re not here, sir,” Pérez said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweep the place again!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, that’s not going to do any—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“THAT’S AN ORDER! SWEEP IT AGAIN!” The other agents scrambled back into their squads and began the search once more, Agent Smith boiling in rage as he took point for his own group. “Where the HELL did they go?!”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The satchel continued to buzz as Ben, Josh, Drew, and Jory continued to stare down their opponent. The man, still unfazed, moved his eyes back and forth between the two groups slowly and silently, anticipating a move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I take it we should work together, then,” Josh asked, loud enough to be heard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory yelled holding up a fist. “No holding back!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not sure that’s the best idea for me,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Well, how else are we supposed to get the phone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we can’t exactly discuss that with him standing right there, can we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s just let him have it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Fine, give me a bit,” Josh said, taking a look around at his surroundings. Ben, a distance away gave him a thumb’s up. He turned around and leaned down to get ready.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too.” At that, Jory stared at his knuckles, gripping his hands tighter. “That means I finally get to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> too…” Jory grabbed his right hand’s wrist, focusing all of his attention on his fist. “Just like I always imagined…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment later and Jory’s whole forearm burst into flames causing both himself and Drew to recoil from the light. (“Woah, the fuck,” Drew said, sheilding his eyes.) A second after, the flames died down to a more manageable level and Jory got ready to charge, beaming maniacally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go, Josh!” As soon as the words left his mouth, Jory charged forward, readying a blazing hook. “Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man’s eyes widened as another whirlwind kicked up around him, this one more powerful than the last. He held up a hand, ready to intercept Jory’s assault, the wind bearing down on Jory’s haymaker, and in a single instant blowing out the fire around Jory’s fist and catching it with his own hand. Immediately after Jory’s attack was stopped, the wind picked up again and knocked Jory back once more, this time with a lot more force. In response, Drew moved to catch Jory so that he wouldn’t hit the ground. The two steadied themselves, and Drew helped Jory plant himself firmly on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Jory said, quickly turning to Drew. He then turned back to his opponent who was still repositioning after stopping Jory’s attack. “Josh,” Jory called. “The fuck!? Why didn’t you attack!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>ready</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet,” Josh said bitterly, still only leaned forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fucking hell!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew suddenly put his hand on Jory’s shoulder. “Woah, Champ. Let </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> take it from here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory shot Drew a dazed face. “Drew, what the fuck are you gonna—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory looked back at the man, but then..saw something moving behind him. Charlie was in the middle of the commons, tip-toeing as quietly as he could toward the satchel. Byron, meanwhile, was also in open space, putting his finger over his lips to signal to be quiet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, just follow my lead from here on out,” Drew announced so that Josh and Ben could hear. He then made it more apparent that he was talking to the masked man. “Hey, dude, so I gotta say, you don’t look like you’ve smiled in a long time, so maybe instead of fighting, we should make it our mission to make you laugh at least once before you gotta go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew...what the fuck,” Josh asked, bewildered and shifting into a more comfortable position.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no,” Jory said, chiming in. “You’re right. What do you have in mind, Drew?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Drew said with his patented, pearly smile still looking at the man. “Now, I know you're not that fond of laws, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> one you can't break…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Knock, knock.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment of silence passed, the man seemingly somewhat taken aback by Drew’s words. But still, he didn’t answer. Charlie and Byron continued their antics in the background, Byron giving Drew the motion to keep it up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, bro, it’s the law: you HAVE to say ‘who’s there?’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man still refused to respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know where this is going,” Jory said. "Alright, Drew, I'll be him, and you be you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See? This guy gets it,” Drew said, motion to Jory as if whining to the guy in the mask. “Alright, weird, mute guy in the mask. Knock, knock.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>aW gEe WiZZ dRweW! </span>
  <span>Who’s THERE,” Jory asked in a tone intended to make the man seem like a wimpy cartoon character.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do who?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoooa, keep it in your robes, chief!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat. Still nothing. By this point, Charlie was getting dangerously close to the objective and Byron was in position so he had begun activating his Geass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Booooo…” Josh said from the other hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that supposed to do something,” Ben called incredulously from the other hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Ben,” Jory yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, level with me for a moment, bro,” Drew said to the man, continuing his banter. “Don't you have somewhere else to be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jory convened again. “Like, maybe a volcano so you die and I never have to see you again."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You could be writing a book or watching TV, but instead you're standing in front of a bunch of high schoolers, keeping them from getting a phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man still said nothing. Charlie had reached the bag and gave a look over to Byron to check that he was ready, Byron giving a thumb’s up with one eye covered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck? This guy is impossible,” Drew said, still hamming it up. “No one has ever resisted </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> level of trolling. This guy’s level of tolerance is off the charts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, how can anyone resist not one, but TWO petulent children,” Jory said looking to the guy for answers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie grabbed the bag, lifting it gently and beginning to sneak away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Drew finally conceded bitterly. “I’m all outta options, guys. So how about we get back to fighting or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Music to my ears,” Jory said, pounding a fist into his other hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Josh almost asked in complete bewilderment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then what was that all for,” Ben screamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, if he’s not gonna let us through, we still gotta get the phone somehow, so I tried my bestest,” Drew said shrugging. “And I have to say: from my point of view, I saw a winning strategy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The phone rang again, this time from Charlie’s new location that was behind Byron. Immediately the man perked up, noticing the displaced sound, and turned to see Charlie holding the bag and Byron holding his arm out with his Geass ready to fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drew! Jory! Turn around,” Byron yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the order they did just that, but so did the man, looking at Josh and Ben. Josh got in position to transform once more, Ben readying himself to sprint behind Josh. Josh exploded in a flurry of scales, a giant, winged lizard snapping its jaws and roaring at the man taking his place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man, clearly startled, began to back off toward the outside doors. He scanned the group again, as they all started to converge on him; Byron taking a deep breath in, the dragon hissing once more and stalking forward, and Jory holding his fist again. Finally, he chuckled. “You all have certainly been busy…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another gust whipped up around the man, this time coalescing around his legs. Part of it blew down the hall toward the doors of the school, throwing them open. Then he was lifted off his feet and turned toward the doors, but not before yelling, “All accounted for. Hah! Just as the reports said: you kids really are something!” After that, he sped out the door on the wings of the wind and disappeared from sight to the outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why, you fucker,” Jory screamed after him. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Get back here, coward!!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jory attempted to break into a sprint, but Byron had preemptively run toward him and grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him back. Jory gagged and swiftly turned around, turning his anger on Byron as well. Meanwhile, Josh transformed back and after Ben checked on his condition, the two met up with the rest of the crew. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell was THAT for?! You let him get away!!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, because he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> our objective,” Byron said sternly as Charlie sauntered up to them, holding the satchel triumphantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what if he comes back!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then we fight him </span>
  <em>
    <span>together</span>
  </em>
  <span>...like we </span>
  <em>
    <span>planned</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Seriously, Jory, what part of ‘wait for backup’ do you not understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or would you rather face the guy all on your own,” Josh then said as he and Ben finally reached the group. “Because if you’re going after him, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> following you this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, save your energy for later, Champ,” Drew chimed in. “You know as well as I do that there’s no way in hell you’re gonna beat him without us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory, still a bit crazed, looked at the others who all gave Josh and Drew’s statements a silent stamp of approval. Slowly but surely, he calmed down and averted his eyes to the door, then glanced sideways toward the floor. “Tch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you, ‘tch’ us,” Ben almost yelled. “You just about gave us all heart attacks! You’re lucky we heard you scream or we wouldn’t have even known you were in trouble!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t in trouble,” Jory almost spat. “He didn’t move from that spot from that time that we approached him!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron’s face contorted in anger. “You knowingly engaged the enemy?! Jory, are you mad!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was in the way anyway! What would you rather I have done?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tactical retreat,” Charlie asked, scratching his cheek with a single finger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Jory snarked. “You saw that guy fly outta here! We wouldn’t’ve been able to outrun that even if we tried!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...About that,” Drew cut in, “are we just gonna ignore the fact that that guy literally just flew into open air in broad daylight or…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group stopped in stunned realization. They started to look around at each other and then turned to look toward the door. At the same time, Josh had turned around and was staring at something else entirely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, guys,” he croaked. “I just noticed something. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to look outside for a sec...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group turned instantly to the glass panes behind them, one by one a state of shock crept amongst them: the light from the sky had turned to what seemed like dusk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When the fuck did that happen,” Jory exclaimed, throwing a hand in the window’s direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We weren’t in here </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> long, were we,” Ben said worriedly as the group started to turn back toward one another.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Josh said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you a hundred percent sure,” Charlie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we’ll talk about how we did here later,” Byron said, moving toward the door. “Be at the ready, team. We’re moving out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hesitantly, the group made their way toward the door the man exited earlier and soon they had opened it and filed outside. Once outside they began to fan out on the sidewalk, holding their breath in awe of the view. Time seemed to have stopped. Stalled cars littered the street, but all of them were empty. The traffic lights were dead and not a sound could be heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even the Earth seemed to have lost its breath; no wind was blowing—not even the slightest breeze. Soon they had inadvertently formed a line and eventually each focused on the main problem at hand: the sky...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>red</span>
  </em>
  <span>—its light permeating everything it touched. But the sun was </span>
  <em>
    <span>black</span>
  </em>
  <span> and much larger than it should have been, looming like a giant in the sky and casting an eerie glow against everything in the red-orange blanket surrounding it. It didn’t hurt to look at it, but its presence was blinding enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And as the boys stood opposed to the fact—bewildered and estranged—they realized that they were the only human part of the world left basking in the rays of the eerie, madder sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Be Continued...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Maze Runner - Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Maze Runner - Part 1</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity as the six boys stood frozen on the sidewalk outside the school doors. The sky above them was like a curtain of blood, looming menacingly in the background of the pitch-dark, void of a sun which sucked in their sight without any pain. Without anyone looking away, one of the boys finally put to words what was on their minds:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHAT THE FUCK,” Jory screeched.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We were never in Kansas, Charlie,” Josh retorted quietly, without so much as blinking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does that even matter,” Ben exploded, finally breaking his gaze from the atmosphere. “I TOLD you all this would be a trap! Why didn’t you listen to me?! Look! LOOK! Do you see it?” He pointed to the sky. “THAT is exactly what I was warning you all about! DO YOU GET IT </span>
  <b>
    <em>NOW</em>
  </b>
  <span>?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes,” Drew said, “we get it, Ben: you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> right. But, you know, with something like this, somehow I’m not convinced that we would’ve been safe if we didn’t come here either. What do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think, Mr. Righty-pants?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben’s lips immediately curled in on themselves at the thought and he shrunk in a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually,” Byron said, putting his hand to his chin, “that brings up a good point. How did we even get here? And </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I don’t remember any signs in the school that we’d entered some kind of alternate space. How about you guys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others gave their independent answers audibly or in gesture, all of which agreeing with Byron’s assessment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fucking great,” Jory deadpanned. “So you’re telling me that we could’ve been in this since forever ago and didn’t know it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Either that or we’re in some kind of hallucination.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would they do that though,” Josh asked skeptically. “Wouldn’t it be bad for them to have us wandering around in physical space like that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm. Good point. So if that’s the case then we’re probably in a vegetative state and being shipped off. The proof of that theory will be if we suddenly wake up somewhere else. Until that happens, if it does, we might as well act on what we see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(“You say that like it’s no big deal,” Ben said quietly, growing ever more diminished.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So we’re in some kind of alternate space, yeah,” Charlie asked. “Does that mean we can do whatever the hell we want now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew snorted at the thought. “Of course that’s the first thing you go to, Charlie,” he said with a smile. Meanwhile, Byron faceplamed, Josh rolled his eyes, and Jory got stoked up before replying:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s right though! In here, we can’t be seen by anyone so we can use our powers however we want!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps we could even turn that to our advantage,” Byron said. “Develop our powers while we scope out the opposition.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben hugged himself tightly. “But if we can’t be seen by anyone else, doesn’t that mean the people we’re up against can use their powers however they want too? We’re sitting ducks…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bzzzzt.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The device in the bag that Charlie was holding began to ring once more. The boys stared at him as he gave a look that read, “You want me to answer it?” as he slowly opened up the satchel. The ringing continued as he fished out a small, black communication device. After inspecting it, Charlie found a button that seemed like the way to pick up and one last time looked around at the other’s worried faces, Byron giving a nod to continue. Charlie hit the button and held the device in the palm of his hand as if it were resting on a table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey boys,” a familiar valley-girl voice almost sang out. “Like, it’s totally great to be able to actually talk to you.” She giggled eerily. “Would you like to play a game?” After another short silence, she spoke again disappointedly, “Oh, come on guys. Like, there’s no need to be so cold… Can’t we have a little…</span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” (She said that last word a bit seductively.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll bite,” Josh said, keeping the silence from going on too long after that. “Who are you and what do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yaaaay! We finally get to begin! And here I thought you guys had hung up. You know, I was really excited when I found out that I would be the one to get to talk to you all. It’s not every day that...” As the girl rambled on, Byron put his hand in the air and snapped twice quietly, getting the other’s attention. He then made a motion that put his two pointer fingers together vertically, simultaneously mouthing the words “pair up” and moving over next to Charlie. The others followed suit and by the time they sorted themselves, the girl finished her nonsensical blabber. “…and I’m soooo happy that I get to play this game with you all. …Hey, like, are you guys still there? Helloooooo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re still here,” Drew said with an irritated undertone, “but are you gonna talk us to death or answer the questions? Who are you, and what do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, poo, such a bad sport,” she replied bitterly before brightening up instantly again. “But that’s okay—I haven’t explained the rules yet!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rules,” Byron contended cynically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, silly,” she said as if it were plain as day. “We can’t play a game without setting up rules first! So let’s start with this: you all need to choose one person to represent your group. While we’re on call, that one person talks and everyone else needs to play the quiet game.” She giggled again. “Easy enough, right? Once you’ve done that, I can explain the rest. So, like, I’ll call back in a few! Choose wisely, boys! Buh-byyyye~!” At that, she hung up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Haha,” Charlie laughed in a Mickey Mouse voice continuing on in an imitation. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was awkward.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben double-hand-face-palmed and dragged them down the front of his face. “Uuuuuugh, why is it that every time people with superpowers get into these situations they can’t just talk it out like normal people?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because these motherfuckers don’t understand anything unless you put them in their place,” Jory exclaimed. “And I say we do just that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...And how do you suppose we do that,” Josh asked bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Easy: when she calls back we tell that bitch that we’re sick of her dodgy bullshit and that if she won’t answer our questions then we’re gonna come find her and MAKE her answer them!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Joryyyyy,” Ben whined in exasperation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oy vey,” Byron said, pinching the bridge of his nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WHAT!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, Champ,” Drew began. “I don’t think outright threatening these people is going to work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll work when we follow through! They’re looking down on us!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They have every RIGHT to,” Byron exploded. “WE’RE IN ANOTHER DIMENSION!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, hello,” Charlie said, putting the device to his ear, the others turning in panic. “I would like to nominate George for speaker, please...absent person not on the other line.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew snorted, Josh and Byron giving a sigh of relief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie, don’t scare us like that,” Ben wailed, almost crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Charlie began, “if we’re not gonna make a pick before the time’s up, then I’m just gonna take it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie’s right,” Byron said, rubbing his forehead, “we’re getting sidetracked. Who are we putting up as our representative?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben gave an obvious sign that he didn’t want anything to do with it. Josh and Jory both considered it for a second and then also backed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean,” Drew said as he shook his head, “is that even a question? I’m pretty sure you’re the only person who would even want that here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie made a motion to George, now on his hand, who was munching on the device in his sock mouth like a cow would a tuft of grass. After which, everyone in the crew said, “no”, only slightly off all at once and in various tones of disapproval.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awwww,” Charlie said disappointedly, his shoulders dropping a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then if no one else objects, I’ll do it,” Byron said, addressing the others. He turned back to Charlie. “Charlie, can have the device?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment, humming loudly. He then took the device out of George’s mouth and offered it to Byron. “Alright, pawn. I shall allow you to fight on my behalf this time. ...You better win though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Naturally,” Byron said, taking the device.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Josh asked. “What’s next?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Strategy. What’s our end goal?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get out of here alive,” Ben answered immediately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. So is there anything...</span>
  <em>
    <span>besides</span>
  </em>
  <span> threatening them, that we should try to ensure that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come the fuck on,” Jory exclaimed. “What reason do you have to think that’s not something we should at least consider!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe because they might try to KILL us, you dolt,” Josh replied venomously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I vote that we mess with them </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Drew said. “Leaving it without anything to put them on the back foot would be both weak as hell and incredibly boring.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I second this,” Charlie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fiiine,” Jory lamented, “if that’s all we can get.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Byron said. “If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll take it. But if we can’t on the first round, we’ll figure out how to do it later. Good?” Everyone gave their nods or hums of approval. “Excellent. Then the last thing is our arrangement. I’ll be negotiating; if I could find out their motives, that would be ideal. But for now I’ll just take what I can get. Drew, Ben—I need you two to listen closely to her every word to glean as much info as you can from her; I’ll be speaking so I can’t catch everything. Josh, Jory, Charlie: you three keep watch and alert us of anything weird that might happen around us; also see if you can spot someone, they may be watching. And if there </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> an attack, we’ll need you to raise the alarm and/or take to the front lines to intercept it. Don’t let anything go unnoticed everyone, and keep your powers at the ready.” Byron smiled confidently. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s show these fools who they’re messing with</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And they think they can take on the five of us and a Marty Stu,” Ben said melodramatically. “I’d like to see them try.~”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Morale rose as the group took their positions. As they settled in, silence settled in as well. The seconds ticked by in the noiseless world until even time itself seemed to stop. And then...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bzzzzt.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron hit the button to answer the device. Once again, the voice of the girl greeted him gleefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey heyyyyyyy~! So I hope you’re ready now. Have you, like, chosen your leader?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess that would be me,” Byron said nonchalantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeeeeah! I just, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> it would be you! What’s your name, guy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ladies first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ohhhh, how charming,” the girl replied half-sarcastically. “Well, unfortunately, I don’t feel like answering that question.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I don’t feel like answering yours. So unless you’re gonna put something on the table, we’re at an impasse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wooooow, like, look at you. So grown up. I think I’m starting to understand you guys just a bit better now. How ‘bout this: what do you guys want, then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, for starters, how about you tell us what you want with us. I know our last encounter wasn’t on the best of terms, but I mean it when I say this: we don’t mean any harm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think that’s for </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> to decide. Maybe you didn’t intend to cause us trouble last week, but I can tell you that what you did made a lot of very powerful people just </span>
  <em>
    <span>a little </span>
  </em>
  <span>angry. Like, a teensy bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we can make it up to you, would you leave us alone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oooo, sorryyyy. No can do, guy. Orders are orders, after all. Don’t take it personally.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eh, worth a shot,” Byron said, stretching a bit. “Alright, then let’s move on to this game thing you kept mentioning. Frankly, we never agreed to take part in anything like that, so I have but one question for you on this: what happens if we choose </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to play?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl giggled and then spoke bluntly in a chipper tone. “Then I guess...you all have to die~</span>
  <span>♥</span>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her words hung over the group like a guillotine. Josh, Jory, and Charlie all tensed up, quickly scanning every angle for any movement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh sillies, you know as well as I do that that’s useless; you won’t find me and I’m not out to kill you </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m serious! Like, there’s no reason </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to trust my word, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron chuckled gravely. The others cringed but still kept to their tasks. “Uhhh, I don’t know if we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, but if this is what you’re like when you’re serious, I do wonder what you’re like when you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl burst out laughing on the other end. “Ahhhh, aren’t you funnyyyy!” She sighed. “It’s just too bad, guy. I think you’d be, like, an awesome friend. Your buddies too, you know? But as I said, orders are orders. We have a game to play, and you all don’t have a choice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. That truly is a pity. ...Then I suppose we’ll just have to play your game. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>win</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Hey, that’s the spirit, guy! Let’s, like, get into the rules, then. So in this game, we’ll give you several tasks and you have to complete them. Also, you each will have, like, three points on your score. If the entire group fails to complete a task, one point will be deducted from everyone’s score. Individual points can be deducted for failing to abide by the rules too. Furthermore, if, like, </span><em><span>all</span></em> <em><span>three</span></em><span> points are deducted from someone…? ...Yeeeah, let’s just say they’re not long for the world.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you FUCKING BITCH,” Jory yelled, turning around to face the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh, look at that! Like, you failed already! One point down for the fire guy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory immediately bit his tongue and Byron swiftly brought the device closer to his face to speak more forcefully. “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! You never said </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> we agreed to before this conversation applied to the game itself—that was just a formality to explain the rules. You can’t expect us to be playing by rules you haven’t established yet. Don’t try to con us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooookay, ooookay. Settle down, guy. I get it. You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>right about that, so as a show of good faith, I’ll let it slide </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> time. But just so that everyone’s on the same page: when we contact your group like this, there will be penalties for speaking out of turn. And the next time your hot headed friend blatantly steps out of line, we’ll be deducting a point from </span>
  <em>
    <span>all of you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Are we clear?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Crystal,” Byron said sternly, raising an eyebrow at Jory; the latter gritted his teeth and went back to watching the surroundings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gooooood. We’ll revise the rules after every challenge so that, like, going forward there are no more disputes. And with that, I think that it’s for now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine by me. So what’s the first challenge?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First up is a race against the clock! You have, like, thirty minutes to get to the Southfield Plaza. Simple enough, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How cliché...but we’ll roll with it. What’s the catch?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s about it. The timer will start immediately after this call has ended and you can use, like, anything at your disposal to reach the finish line. I’ll call back when you get there or if the time expires, whichever one comes first. So good luck! I’m rooting for you! Byyyyyyyye~!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, she hung up once more. (“No you’re not,” Josh mumbled.) The group turned in on itself to deliberate quickly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You heard the gal,” Byron said. “Off we go to the Plaza.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Josh said, glancing snidely at Jory, “I think most of us heard her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh,” Jory said, posing as if to fight, “don’t make me come over there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Ben said angrily, putting his hands out to act as a buffer between the two, “can we </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> do this right now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Byron said, “this time we </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t have time for that. So let’s just get a move on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we have plenty of time,” Drew said, turning to the parking lot. “I mean, we can just take our cars there, ri—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew fell silent as his eyes met the parking lot. Nothing. Not a single car there to be found. He scowled, as did Charlie seeing the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now it’s personal,” Charlie said murderously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup,” Drew said. “That’s it: these people are toast.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s great and all,” Josh said, “but now what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like we’re hoofin’ it,” Byron said, looking at his watch and shifting to start the trek. “No time to waste.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awww,” Ben said, his shoulders dropping as the others also turned face and started toward the street, “but I’m allergic to exercise…” Soon after he dragged his feet forward and picked up the pace, jogging after the others into the still, alien world.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Smith paced back and forth between the windows that overlooked a small, school courtyard and the pristine tan lockers that resided by the music classrooms. At the same time, Pérez had sat down on the bench by the window, thinking to herself, with her head tilted back against the glass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Bravo to Command, over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smith snapped the walkie off his belt faster than a starving dog would a bone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. Update. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Sir, we’ve swept the school and met up on the opposite side. We’ve checked everywhere that would be available to them and there are no signs of forced entry to any of the locked rooms. They’re not here. ...Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command,” Smith said, his voice raising in frustration. “All units start a sweep to check for hidden passageways. Clearly they didn’t leave through any of the exits, and if we can’t find any hidden ones, they ARE here. We’ll check under every single seat and desk in this entire school if that’s what it takes—but I want those kids found! Am I clear?!” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. “...</span>
  </em>
  <span>Yes sir</span>
  <em>
    <span>.” Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately after that reply, Smith changed the channel on his device and spoke again: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“This is Command. How goes the search outside? Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Roger Command, this is Mobile. All outside units are fanned out to search the entire radius for the next mile. We’ve got nothing yet, Sir. Over.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smith bashed the side of his hand against the lockers, hanging his head in defeat, “God, damn it!” He lingered there for just a moment before sulking over to the bench that Pérez was occupying. Sitting down himself, he buried his face in his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Getting agitated isn’t going to help with finding them,” Pérez said quietly, her eyes still closed and chin tilted back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Easy for </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say,” Smith almost spat from behind his palms. “I’ve been on this case for decades…” He held his hands out as if holding something invisible. “To be THIS close to a breakthrough,” and then gripped his hands into fists, “but then end up losing it...it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>beyond</span>
  </em>
  <span> infuriating...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand,” Pérez said, sighing and finally straightening herself up. “But we have a job to do so let’s take this from the top one more time. See if we missed anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They came in here. We watched them do it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t see them exit. And we can’t find them in the building. So where are they?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> odd that they’re so hard to find... But there’s always an explanation for this. If our suspicions were correct and they’re onto us, maybe they predicted that we would try to find them in here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine and all,” Smith growled, “but even </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> they knew</span>
  <em>
    <span>, </span>
  </em>
  <span>it doesn’t explain how they could hide so well from us… Either they took a secret exit or we’ve been had by our enemies...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about that, then? Let’s say they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>with the Organization, as you think. They would be gone by now, and there’s nothing to be done about it. But let’s say they aren’t. What then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If they aren’t, they’re probably dead by now…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez hummed to herself, seemingly not convinced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...How can you remain so unnerved at a time like this,” the Agent said, turning to his partner. “Weren’t you the one defending the safety of those boys to begin with? If they have been spirited away by the Organization, they’re not already in their pockets, and they’re still alive, they’d be in a ridiculous amount of danger right about now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez just shrugged. “Let’s not forget that if they are their own faction that they’ve already survived one run-in with the Organization on their own—a feat so incredible I’m sure I don’t need to explain it. I don’t feel like it would be right to count them out just yet. So we should give them more time. At this point, considering how impossible they are to locate, that’s all we </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>do...and have some hope that they can hold their own again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t deal in ‘hopes and dreams’, Pérez,” Smith scoffed, standing up again. “I deal in </span>
  <em>
    <span>facts</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And here’s a fact: I now have to contact </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>higher ups because apparently the most sophisticated arm of the U.S. Government is too incompetent to find a group of teenagers...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oof,” Pérez cringed. “Good luck with </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” She eyed the door under a unisex sign just down the hall. “...I think I’m going to go to the bathroom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pérez then got up and the two went their separate ways, Smith walking down the music hall toward the door. He stared out the window into the empty field for a moment, then took a phone out of his pocket. After punching in a few numbers, he put it to his ear and after another moment, he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Smith. You can probably guess why I’m calling you, but I have to report it anyway: the targets have gone missing, as per usual. Everyone’s scrambled to find them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s more than a zero percent chance, for as much as that’s worth. But, regardless, we should continue with our previous plans and start getting in contact with their associates. Who knows, it could prove useful in the long-run.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We still have one more hurdle to get over. But the more time I spend with her, the more I think it won’t be an issue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Understood. Beginning Phase 2, then.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, the group had already made their way to the light by the school, choosing to turn and go through the subdivisions as a shortcut to the Plaza. They were jogging briskly down the middle of the road, passing by empty car after empty car and soon turned on to Jory’s street. Drew and Jory led the pack, Charlie, Byron, and Josh just behind them, with Ben slightly straggling behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEES,” Jory yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “FINALLY! OUR </span>
  <em>
    <span>FIRST ACTUAL</span>
  </em>
  <span> FIGHTS! I CAN’T FUCKING </span>
  <em>
    <span>WAIT</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!!” He sped ahead some more in his excitement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jory,” Ben yelped. “Slow down! I can’t keep up like this!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh God, whose ass do I get to kick first?! Dammit, </span>
  <em>
    <span>where are the guys for me to shove my foot into?!?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, I don’t think he heard you,” Josh called back, his feet still carrying him forward. “Try calling him a name next time—idiots usually respond to those kinds of things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>heard</span>
  </em>
  <span> that, Josh,” Jory replied over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good job, Jory,” Drew said plainly. “You’re officially an idiot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I dunno guys,” Charlie said. “I think it’s one of his more endearing qualities.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, endearing,” Josh said. “That’s what I’d call immediately forgetting that you got your ass handed to you by someone who stood still.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All of you,” Jory said bitterly and half-giving up. “Just...just go fuck yourselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron checked his watch. “Alright. At this pace, we should be able to get there early. Although, even if I’m overestimating, we should still have enough in the tank to sprint the final distance if need be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cool,” Drew said, “then I guess we just take it easy from here on out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Josh said. “We should probably talk about that call we just had.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Byron said. “So why don’t we start with what we’ve learned about our opponents so far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Charlie began, “we know they have a good fashion sense.” The others gave him a look, Charlie sporting the satchel that the communicator came in, the strap across his chest and the bag bumping against his side as he continued to jog along. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charlie,” Josh asked incredulously, “why do you still have that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought I’d keep it as a souvenir!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You realize it could be bugged, right? You should toss it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeeeah,” Byron said, “there’s also no guarantee you could take it with you when we get out of here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie thought for a moment. “Welp, it makes me sad, but those’re some good points.” Immediately he flipped the strap over his head and let the bag drop to the street, its form now growing smaller as they jogged away from it. “Aaaaaaall betteeeeer!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of bugs,” Ben said loudly, trying to keep up, “what about the device itself?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron took a look at the device in his hand before stuffing it into his pocket best he could while still moving. “Uhh, it could be. But we kinda need it though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeeeeah,” Drew said, “not much to do about that one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who cares,” Jory said. “Let ‘em hear us. Once we get our hands on these cowards, I bet they’ll be pushovers. The only reason they’re hiding is because they know we’re a threat to them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Avoiding a fight doesn’t make you weak,” Josh said. “...And now that I’ve had to say that, everything makes sense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> supposed to mean,” Jory yelled over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly what it says.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not now, you two,” Byron interjected. “But Josh is right: they’re not hiding because they’re weak, they’re hiding because they’re smart; even a small threat isn’t worth taking a chance on when you have better options. It’s important to remember that the people we’re up against are the highly meticulous types. Almost every action they take will be intentionally designed to gain some kind of advantage. In fact, that was happening from the very first time they called us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, really,” Drew asked in disbelief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I know a silver tongue when I hear one and that chick chose her words </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>carefully. It’s arguable from the way she phrased things that deducting a point for someone else speaking was a trap designed to test how easy it is to push us around. Hell, even having us run to the next location serves dual purposes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t be serious,” Jory said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am. For one, it’s a soft test for physically-oriented superpowers; the people who are least tired out potentially having them. Two, it tires out the people who definitely don’t, potentially making them easier to pick off in the next challenge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Drew said. Then he yelled over his shoulder: “You hear that, Ben!? Better build that stamina, quick!” (Jory snorted in the background.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Ben yelled back, obviously miffed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what else have we learned about our enemies other than that we should include ourselves,” Charlie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Byron started up again, “the downside to facing hyper-competent opponents is that they’re a hassle to deal with because they’re so ruthless—hence the rulesharking. But the upside is that they basically telegraph what they’re after in their actions because they optimize so much. For example: the fact that their higher ups won’t let us go through negotiations means they see us as a major liability. So if I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking of how to contain us in the least intrusive way, which would probably be to try and convert us to their side. I’m pretty sure she even hinted at that somewhere in there. Subliminal messaging, you could say.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooooooh, I get ya now,” Drew said. “How ‘bout this then: you know that moment when she said she was gonna kill us and she laughed about us trying to find her? Doesn’t that confirm that she can at least see us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Josh said. “Either that or she’s trying to psych us out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s definitely something to watch for then,” Byron said. “Nice catch, Drew. Anyone else?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ben said. “I noticed that when she was talking about calling us that she switched perspectives. She used ‘I’ all the way up to the end and then switched to ‘we’, so maybe she was trying to hide that she has other people with her at the moment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooooo,” Byron cooed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Very</span>
  </em>
  <span> nice catch, Ben. That opens up the question of which one is the one who put us here. It could be the girl, but it could also be someone else. That’s a question that’ll have to be answered before we take any offensive measures.” Byron checked his watch again. “And speaking of offensive measures,” Byron looked over to Josh, “I think it’s about time we build up our arsenal. Let’s stop for a sec.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron ushering them into the middle of the street where they ground to a halt and all looked at Josh as he shot back a curious look. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As I said before, we should take advantage of our situation to the fullest. And since the dragon’s already out of the bag from earlier, we can use that power to our heart’s content. And that means,” Byron smiled confidently, “I think it’s about time for some flying practice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The expressions of the group lit up like Christmas trees except for Josh who took a look down the empty street before him and looked back to the others and simply nodded with purpose. “Okay, stand back everyone,” he said. After they put some distance between themselves and Josh double-checked to make sure he was clear, he leaned forward a bit and then quickly transformed into a dragon, his front legs coming down on the pavement and causing a slight scraping sound before he stabilized. Byron walked up to Josh’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First thing’s first, let’s get some wing movement. I’m going to tap the base, alright?” Josh grunted his permission, and leaned over a bit to give Byron better reach. Byron pointed his fingers downward and tapped along the arc of Josh’s wing toward the base in rounds of two, moving toward his spine. “Feel that? Focus on the muscles there and try to get some movement.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron backed away again and Josh craned his neck to look at his back. He rolled his shoulders a bit and then his right wing jolted, his face coiling back a bit in surprise. He moved it again, this time up and down and then in a circular motion. He then started up on doing the same for the other one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron waved his hand to motion the others to come with him. “Let’s get walking. Josh, try lifting your wings and following us at the same time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the others began herding down the street, Josh staying put until he figured out how to get the tips of his wings off the ground. Once they were steady, Josh took a few steps forward, cycling his legs properly. The others began to pick up the pace, delighted, and Josh matched it. Soon they had reached a decent stride, and the group rounded a corner to the right, Josh following along. They continued picking up the pace down a short path to another crossroad, this time turning left. Before them, again, a wide open and straight path to the next turn presented itself. Josh stopped, looking at the path and the others, noticing, stopped as well. Josh readied himself as if to pounce, stretching his wings out as broadly as he could, his tail even raising behind him. The others, breathless, could only watch in amazement. Josh spinted forward, his legs in a gallop, and leapt into the air, gliding forward and through the others (who parted for him as he came by) about fifteen feet before his claws finally touched back down. Josh turned to the others, grunting as he nodded away from them as if to say, “Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others silently cheered. “You heard the guy,” Byron said, addressing them. “Pick up the pace!” At that, the whole group took off after Josh, the latter turning again to get ready for another gliding attempt. As they caught up to him, he took to the air again, this time gliding a few more feet than the last. Approaching another turn, Josh bounced off once more, the others following as he drifted ever so slightly to the left, more or less rounding the corner. The others soon followed with confidence. After another turn right, this time more smoothly, the group found themselves coming up on a mostly straight section of road which curved ever so slightly in the distance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Ben yelped, almost tripping over himself as Josh was preparing another glide. Josh turned to see the others starting to lag behind him and stood to wait patiently for them to catch up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they approached him, Drew also yelled to keep Josh from starting up again. “Yo!” The group moved forward to Josh and Drew jogged past him, turning to signal toward the sky as he did. “Try getting some height this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that, the others strolled past Josh who looked up at the less foliated stretch. The former shifted back into a jog, trying to watch Josh as they pushed forward. Josh took a deep breath and got ready once more. He then dashed, his wings outstretched, this time after jumping he flapped his wings a few times, but actually cut his usual glide short, albeit touching down safely. Continuing to move forward, he did this a few more times, the others starting to gain some distance on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron stopped and turned to say, “They need to undulate,” as he made his hands do the recommended movement pattern. “Scoop up the air—that’ll get you lift.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh angrily growled at Byron as if to say, “I know what the physics are, you asshole. I just can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Okay, okay. Point taken,” the latter said, putting his hand up like he was under arrest. He then turned to continue on with the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh took position again. This time stretching his wings a bit to feel the movement. He then ran forward, pumping his wings while still on the ground for a moment and then pushed off the ground as hard as he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Lift off.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The classic sound of wings beating filled the still air of the strange world as Josh gained enough height to glide the rest of the way, flying over the other’s heads and letting out a triumphant roar. The others looked up in amazement, picking up the pace so as not to fall behind. Josh made his way back to the ground and looked back at the others, making sure that he wasn’t too far ahead of them. His concerns put aside, he turned to walk forward and let the others pass before he attempted to repeat his newest feat. He took a few steps, turning his head forward and looking out into the streets he did so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, he froze. Looking down at his legs, they simply wouldn’t move, and seconds later he started to tilt to the side, plopping sideways on the cement road, completely motionless. The others, terrified at the sight, immediately rushed to Josh’s aid, the latter transforming back into a human but still remaining motionless. As the crew reached him and started to crowd around him, Josh spoke:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Help, I've fallen and I cannot get up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay,” Ben exclaimed more so than asked while attempting to catch his breath. “Are you injured?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...But you’re okay,” Drew asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not. I can’t move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Josh,” Byron began, panting a bit and leaning over him. “You’re human right now. Can you move like a human?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh’s fingers twitched and after blinking twice he started to stir. Without any pause he sat up normally, taking the others by surprise. After he proved to be able to hold himself up they helped him to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Charlie said. “That was weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, what the fuck was that,” Jory exclaimed, himself short of breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Josh said, brushing off his side. “It was almost like, for a second there, that I just...forgot how to dragon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell, Josh,” Byron opined. “How does that even work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I. Don’t. Know. But that’s the best explanation I can give so that’s all you get.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ben put his hand to his mouth to think. “Do you think it had something to do with the Geass order?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It could, but I can’t say for sure,” Byron said, gesturing with his hand. “Although I can say that, assuming that it works like it does in the show, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> have anything to do with it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then was that some kind of attack,” Drew asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If it was, that would spell a worst case scenario; supposing the person who made this space has full control over everything in it, including our mental properties, we’re doomed. I don’t think we can afford to believe it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I say we ignore it,” Charlie said adamantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make it any less of a problem,” Ben groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’ll be fine,” Josh said. “I’ll be fine. We have more important things to worry about right now anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ben, don’t worry. I’ll figure it out. So stand back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group moved out of the way and Josh transformed into a dragon once again. He looked at the others and began to walk forward, seemingly fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s not waste any more time,” Byron said, starting to catch his breath and looking at his watch. “We proceed as were before. Hop to it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group slowly but surely shifted gears, picking up their lost tempo as they jogged down the street. Josh resumed his flight attempts once more, adding a bit more height on every attempt but making sure not to pull too far ahead of the others. The crew made their way down the curved road before them, past a stop sign and then on to a straight stretch. In the distance, the canopy cleared out completely and the main road leading to the Plaza could be seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the final stretch, guys,” Byron yelled out, his voice a bit strained, checking his watch. “Finish strong! We can take a breather before entering the lot!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh waited one last time, allowing the others to catch up and pass him, then took his last run toward the opening. Like a plane on a runway, he picked up speed—faster and faster until he was ready to take to the air. Pushing his wings the best he could, he jumped, climbing several yards into the air. He soared over the heads of the others who had taken a right-hand turn onto the street and they slowed a bit (some stopping altogether) to take in the spectacle. Josh did a figure eight, sliding through the air like a hot knife through butter then gave a few flaps to try to stay airborne, managing to maintain some height before gliding down to the road. Ben managed to meet up with the others who had since gotten over their amazement and rejoined with Josh who decided to transform back, seeing the many cars blocking his flight path. Not too far off, they could see the final row of shops leading to their destination and together they jogged the last section in silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon the crew slowed as they reached the edge of the strip mall, lining the sidewalk and occupying the grass there to catch their breath. Ben fell to his knees, huffing and wheezing, while the others had a mix of positions; arms behind their heads, hands on their knees, or simply standing normally. Drew, one of the ones posed as if nothing had happened, took a look around at the more pathetic members of his party and frowned as Ben flopped over on his back, still breathing heavily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“…You would think,” Ben managed to spit out between gasps, “that with anime powers…we wouldn’t have to worry…about getting tired…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Drew began, “I realize it might be a bit late to ask this, but did we ever consider that being in shape was kind of necessary to how anime characters are portrayed?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Jory whined, taking in a deep breath afterward. “Are you telling me that being nerds actually made us </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse</span>
  </em>
  <span> fits for having superpowers?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup,” Charlie said chipperly, also not looking tired. “And that’s not even the best part! Just wait until we have to dodge incoming attacks: they make it look </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> easier than it is in real life!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t say that,” Ben huffed between breaths. “Not all of us are exactly the athletic types, you know...” He took a deep breath this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Josh, also seemingly fine, was stretching his back. “Athletic or not, a light jog shouldn’t be that bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You flew most of the time using body parts that don’t exist on the human body!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have sensations right now where I thought they weren’t possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I...didn’t want to know that,” Drew said incredulously. “Byron, how are we on time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byron checked his watch. “We’re fine, take your time. Although, even if we didn’t make it, I think losing the points would be worth it in this case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather not,” Ben whined, finally getting up, his breathing a lot steadier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After spending another minute there, Byron took a glance around to check the crew’s status. He checked his watch too, making sure they still had time, and then addressed his allies: “Okay, since it looks like we’re mostly recovered, we could start heading in. Next step is to scout the area for a sign of the next challenge.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatchamacallit,” Charlie said pointing into the parking lot, “you mean like that thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others turned their heads to follow Charlie’s finger. In the middle of the giant parking lot that was the Plaza stood a giant post with a sign at the top, whatever was written on it being illegible from a distance. After exchanging a few worried glances with each other, they slowly moved like a herd toward the post.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Drew said, trying to avoid the chilling silence of the world they were in, “what do you think the next challenge will be?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hard to say,” Byron said. “But if I had to guess, I would think they’d still be trying to suss us out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will there be ass-kicking,” Jory asked excitedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Probably not, but—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“—Well, I just lost interest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Of course you did,” Josh said snidely. “Meanwhile, the rest of us will be focused on </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually living</span>
  </em>
  <span>, in case you forgot we’re in danger already."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory shot Josh the bird. “You see this, Josh? You see it? This is how much I </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span> about your sass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Josh has a point, Jory,” Ben said. “It’s great and all that we</span> <span>have anime powers, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like an anime </span><em><span>character.”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bitch, you’re just jealous of my Anime Swag.~”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie moved in toward the others and struck a dashing pose. “Did someone say,” he swapped to a deep, rich, tone, “swag?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Oooookay, this is getting way too awkward for my taste,” Drew said. “Sorry I asked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group was now close enough so that the text on the sign came into view: “GOAL~”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Josh deadpanned. “How polite of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious,” Jory scowled. “What do they think we are, twelve?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thaaaat’s one way to interpret it,” Ben said hesitantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Josh sneered, “we get it, Ben. Everything’s a trap.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Drew snorted. “Hey, at least they have a sense of humor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group finally made it near the post and gazed up at it, then looked around. Nothing. Checking back in with each other they confirmed the fact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Charlie said. “Now what—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bzzzzzzzzzt.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gadget in Byron’s pocket began to vibrate and so he quickly fished it out, taking a moment to compose himself before answering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heeeey~,” the familiar voice of the valley girl rang again. “Looks like you boys made it. Good job~. Game #1: complete.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Piece of cake,” Byron replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It, like, really was, wasn’t it? I have to say, we’re all, like, totally impressed. You passed with flying colors: no panic, arriving with time to spare—you even got some practice in on the way. For a bunch of high schoolers, you guys are, like, scarily efficient, don’t ya think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The same could be said for your group. Asking for a spokesman to determine leadership, making us travel on a time limit to gauge our planning and stamina—don’t think we aren’t on to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, geeeeee, look at that. Very smart. But, like, that was just a warm-up, so now it’s time for Game #2. The rules are simple: just navigate the maze! Ready? Goooooo!” She hung up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again, the group looked around at each other, Jory breaking the lull.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck is that supposed to—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jory’s words were cut short as the ground beneath them began to shake. The boys tried to keep their footing, but the convusing of the cement beneath them only got stronger. Byron barked the order for everyone to stick together, and they grabbed hold of their respective partners, but it was too late: before they could form a chain, the ground vaulted upward sending them skyward and walls formed between them. The three groups of separated members soon found themselves falling down separate paths, screaming for the other’s sakes. Then, the skyline closed on each respective hole, leaving them in the dark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Be Continued...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>